The Skyknights of Atmos
by DelpheneLightfoot
Summary: Two years after the age of heroes the Storm Hawks have returned from that far side, and Atmos is on the brink of destruction. Master Cyclonis has a new plot brewing to take over and rule Atmos. Skyler and her squadron must unite the sky knights and ban-together and defeat Cyclonis before she destroys Atmos all together.
1. Chapter 1

Skyler woke at the sound; her pleasant dreams interrupted by a loud crash- the Falcon tilted with it. She nearly fell off her bed when another crash occurred. Skyler then realized, they were under attack. She ran to the ship's communication system that hung on the wall.

"Calling all Crystal Raiders, repeat, calling all Raiders! Prepare for battle!" She yelled into the speaker.

The Falcons communication system was state of the art, spanning to the farthest corners of the ship. Each member wore an earpiece that allowed them to stay in contact with one another.

Skyler pulled her dark blue hair in a ponytail allowing a few strands to hang loose and took off down the corridor towards the bridge. She normally would have spent more time on her hair but thought it best for the situation to leave it as is for now. The bridge was the central command centre on the Falcon, that's where Skyler would be giving her orders from.

"Minnie, I need you to keep the Falcon afloat while the rest of us attack straight on." Skyler said as she entered the bridge. Their ship wasn't much, but it could hold it's own. Skyler and her best friend Jinny rebuilt it after they found it wrecked in the forest on their home terra - Terra Mar.

"But we don't even know what we're up against" Jinny said through her earpiece.

Skyler looked out the big window at the front of the ship. Three ships twice the size of the Falcon painted blood red and trimmed with black metal surrounded them. Forty shoulders, dressed in red and green, on their flying vehicles accompanied them. As Skyler assessed their situation her mind was already working out a plan of action.

"Well, they look menacing enough. Jinny I want you to take Brody out and meet them in the air. I'll try and find a way to take them down indirectly."

"Understood. Brody, meet me in the launch bay." Jinny said hastily making her way there. The constant blasts from their attackers nearly knocked her to the ground a few times.

Jinny got to the launch bay just after Brody who was already mounting his skimmer. A skimmer was the most common among flying vehicles because it not only flew through air but had fold in wings so that the rider could convert to drive on land also. Most skimmers had four symmetrical fold-in wings and two all-terrain wheels, although most riders modified theirs to their liking. All the Crystal Raiders kept their skimmers in the launch bay of the Falcon. The launch bay was a large room with not much more than tools and scrap metal.

"Let's get a move on Jin!" Brody called from his skimmer. Because Brody was quite a bit younger than the others his skimmer was smaller so that he could reach the controls.

They flew out into the already raging battlefield ready for anything that came their way. This is what they were trained for. Jinny took out a few crystals she had been saving for a while and shot them at the soldiers. Crystal power was the main source of energy for everybody in Atmos. Their primary function was powering ships and other machinery, but each one has its own power. The Firebolt Crystal for instance is commonly used in combat, powering larger weaponry. When used, the Firebolt Crystal shoots a strong blast of burning hot energy weakening its target on impact. And a Windstone Crystal is powerful enough to throw large objects if wielded properly.

"That should teach them to attack us!" Jinny said celebrating a small victory.

"Um Jinny, we aren't finished yet." Brody said grimly. He pointed out twenty soldiers now blocking them from any attempt of escape. It seemed as if they were trapped from every angle.

Jinny looked around, and her happy face faded to serious and defeated. "I hope Skyler knows what she's doing."

"Whatever she's doing, let's hope she does it fast." Brody added.

Skyler flew her skimmer underneath one of the battleships. She had used a Cloaking Crystal to make her and her skimmer invisible. She found what she was hoping for, however she had known it would be there regardless; a hatch that lead right into the ship. It was located directly in the centre of the enemy ship's underbelly. She leaped from her skimmer and climbed through the hatch and onto the ship effortlessly.

" _How hard can this be?"_ Skyler thought to herself as she started traversing the corridors. " _I just need to find the engine room."_ She added sarcastically.

Skyler dove behind a wall as a squad of soldiers ran by. Catching her breath, she peaked around the corner hoping that they had all moved on. With her adrenaline still pumping she quickly made her way down the corridor.

Minnie had her hands full trying to fend off the three enemy ships as well as all the other individual soldiers. The Falcon was reaching critical condition from taking all the damage. They were about to lose their shields.

She spoke to Jinny through her headset. "What is taking Skyler long? We can't hold them back forever!" Minnie spoke in condensed sentences when she wasn't concentrating hard enough. The common tongue was not her first language. She often forgot less important words and was frequently misunderstood because of it.

"Trust me, she'll come through! She's our sky knight!" Jinny assured her.

Atmos was a land colonised on a thousand mountaintop terras. Each terra was protected by a squadron led by a skyknight. Below the terras was the Wastelands, covered in molten lava and crawling with monsters you only heard about in stories. Because of this, travel between terras was solely dependant on air travel.

Jinny threw her last Frost Crystal at a group of about five soldiers causing their engines to freeze up and fall out of the sky and into the Wastelands. Luckily for them, they all had parachutes that would make their landing softer. Every soldier wore one just in case of unforeseen circumstances. A blast of fiery red energy hit Jinny's skimmer making it malfunction. Luckily the bast wasn't critical and Jinny regained control. Jinny looked toward the origin of the blast and saw a man with jet black hair coming towards her. He was not dressed like the other soldiers, his armour was more advanced and the way he held himself made Jinny assume he was the leader. He stood on the hood of his sky-ride as if he was taunting her. This was a battle she would not back down from. She stood on the seat of her skimmer and drew her twin guns from their holsters. The man laughed when he saw this. Very few citizens used guns nowadays because other weapons were more efficient with crystal power. Jinny loaded her custom made rifle with an Enhancer Crystal that would improve the guns performance and shot at the leader. The shot missed him but directly hit his skimmer sending it into a swirling hurricane of malfunctions.

When he levelled out he glared at Jinny and yelled "No mercy!" which was his favourite way of saying "I will defeat you if it's the last thing I do."

Jinny replied with a mocking smile. When she got close enough she jumped off her skimmer and kicked the man in the face, landing safely on her skimmer.

The man was taken-aback at what just happened. He checked to see if he still had all his teeth and nursed his suddenly aching jaw. That normally didn't happen to him.

"You obviously don't know who you're dealing with deary. I am the Dark Ace, right hand of Master Cyclonis, and I never lose." He said proudly.

Jinny raised an eyebrow, her fists held in front of her face "So I'm supposed to just let you win now? Sorry, I don't think so."

"Very well, you brought this on yourself." He said raising his energy blade in the air.

Jinny had a fraction of a second to examine the Dark Ace's weapon. It had two prongs one longer than the other. Its handle was long, to be wielded with two hands and on the tip of the handle he attached a Firebolt Crystal, no doubt his personal favourite. Jinny braced herself on her skimmer for the coming blast and when it came she rolled her skimmer out of the way.

The Dark Ace laughed "Impressive, you'd make an excellent Cyclonian Talon."

Jinny glared at him "Not on your life."

She jumped again, this time going for a punch in the gut but the Dark Ace anticipated her actions. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around so that she was forced on to his skimmer. She was at his mercy. If she tried to wrestle free he would break her wrist.

"Surrender and I will let you live." He said, his face close to hers.

Jinny knocked her head against his, making him loosen his grip on her wrist. She used this opportunity to get free, She brought her leg up swinging it under his, kicking his leg out from under him causing him to lose his footing. He started to fall but he grabbed a hold of one of the handlebars on his skimmer. He growled in anger.

"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jinny of the Crystal Raiders, and a force to be reckoned with. Remember that next time." Jinny jumped of the Dark Ace's skimmer and landed safely on her own and flew away.

When Skyler finally found the engine room she managed to enter unnoticed and started to look around. She found what looked like the main reactor, if she disconnected the power supply or inserted mixed messages maybe that would be enough to take the ship down. Suddenly Skyler had an idea. She had with her a few Leach Crystals, she packed them in a protective pocket away from the other crystals she had on her. Leach Crystals sucked the power from other crystals, and when they can't hold any more energy they cause a massive explosion. This pocket was specially made to contain the Leach Crystal's energy. Skyler took out the few and hoped it would be enough. She attached them to the main reactor and ran faster than she had entire life. She found the escape hatch where her skimmer was waiting for her. It was hovering right where she left it. She jumped down and landed on her skimmer just in time. The Leach Crystals had done their work effectively and sucked what they could from the reactor and exploded. Skyler flew away on her skimmer just as the ship started to fall from the sky. Minnie was successful in taking out one cruiser as well, leaving one remaining.

On the battlefield, events were clear as they unfolded. They were now evenly matched. But instead of trying to win the battle, the Dark Ace called for the Talons to retreat.

"Yeah that's right you run away! Don't even think about messing with us again!" Brody yelled at them.

Jinny had just finished taking care of the Talons on her tail so she allowed herself to exhale and calm her adrenaline rush. "Where's Skyler?" She asked huffing from exhaustion.

Brody scanned the sky that was now clouded from the cannons from both ships. Debris and what remained of the two cruisers still falling from the sky. From a far off, one small skimmer remained distinguishable from the retreating Talons.

"Raiders meet back on the Falcon for a debrief." Skyler addressed her team through her headset.


	2. Chapter 2

Back on the Falcon, Skyler entered the bridge where the rest of her squadron was waiting for her. Brody was enthusiastically talking about how well he did, Jinny crossed her arms and tried to encourage him without giving him a big head. Minnie was at the controls flying them to safety.

"Good job everyone." Skyler began. "Today, you have made me a proud leader! You all performed to the best of your abilities, but I don't think we've seen the last of them. We need to find out more about them. Does anybody know anything? Who they are, or who they work for?" She asked.

"I saw a symbol on their uniform." Brody said as he grabbed a piece of paper and drew on it. He held it up to Skyler. It was a symbol that resembled a bird of prey about to swoop down on it's kill. Kind of eerie, Skyler thought.

"Good work! Anybody else?" Skyler asked her squadron.

"Their ships were large, big enough to keep twenty squads of soldiers each." Minnie added.

Jinny had remained silent for a while but finally spoke up. "I fought the Dark Ace, whoever he is, he mentioned someone by of name of Master Cyclonis, I think he must be their leader."

"Great. I noticed that their defences are strong and they have nearly unlimited men. We have to find out exactly who we're dealing with. Minnie, set course for the Wayside. Someone there will know who these people are."

The wayside was the most popular rest stop for travelers in all of Atmos. Located in the center of Atmos between terras, it is famous for its unique menu of delicious food. Because of the distance between terras it is hard not to stop at the Wayside.

"Understood, we should arrive within twelve hours." Minnie said charting out their course. "In the meantime, we should get sleep." Not everything Minnie said made sense because she was from a different terra.

Skyler sighed, remembering how tired she was "Agreed, Everyone to your rooms and go back to sleep."

Skyler found that she couldn't sleep and found herself on the bridge steering the ship manually rather than autopilot which Minnie had turned on. She was still shaken up from the attack, it being one of the first she and her squadron had taken on. A few hours had gone by and the sun was just starting to rise, it was at this time that Skyler's eyelids would not stay open much longer. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, but she was interrupted by loud knocking, startled Skyler thought it was another attack. She screamed as she came out of her drowsiness. She looked through the ship's scope to see if she could see the intruder, first she spanned the back balcony but saw no one, when she checked the landing strip she saw a single man by the bay door banging rather than knocking. She tried zooming in to see his face but with the rising sun directly behind him it was hard to make out any distinct features. Skyler quickly made for the launch bay, waking Brody up on her way down.

"Why do you need me? Whatever it is I'm sure you can do it by yourself." Brody said in his half-asleep state.

"Please? It will only take a minute and you can go back to sleep." Skyler pleaded with him.

Brody sat up on his bed "Promise?"

Skyler nodded in reply. They both made their way to the launch bay, Skyler staying close to her brother who was basically sleepwalking. Skyler opened the door to the launch bay to find Minnie already there. She had her crystal sword drawn, a long blade with one incredibly sharp end, and she barricaded herself against the bay door.

"Who is it?" Skyler asked "Do you think its-" she didn't finish knowing exactly who Minnie thought it was.

Wide eyed Minnie finished her sentence "The Dark Ace. I don't know for sure, but it's the only logical explanation."

"What should we do?" Brody asked in fear.

Skyler swallowed her fear and made her way to the small window on the side and Brody followed. They peered through the window and gasped in unison.

"Open the bay door!" Skyler said excitedly.

Minnie's jaw dropped "What sorry?"

"Open the door!" Brody repeated.

Minnie did as she was told, she pulled the lever that opened the two big doors of the launch bay. The sun gave the man a silhouette as he walked in so Minnie couldn't get a good look at him at first, but Skyler and Brody seemed to know him. They both ran up and hugged the stranger. Now Minnie saw him. His hair was rusty red and was cut just above his shoulders, he stood straight and tall, and his smile was kind and warm. Skyler and Brody threw their arms around him and greeted him with questions.

"How's the academy? I want to hear everything!" Skyler said linking her arm with his.

"Why are you back so soon? I thought you said two years and it's only been half a year!" Brody asked expectantly.

The man was so smothered with questions the two were throwing out that he had to interrupt them "Excuse me, I need to talk to Jinny. Where is she?"

"Uh, in the armory I think. She spends most of her time there." Skyler said awkwardly after being shut down so politely.

Minnie, still baffled at the current situation stopped him "Sorry, but who are you?"

"I apologize." He said bowing slightly at the waist like a proper gentleman. "My name is Jaden, I'm Jinny's older brother. And what's you name?" He offered his hand for a handshake.

"Minnie, I don't know Jinny had a brother," She said apologetically.

"Yes well, it was nice meeting you miss Minnie." Jaden bowed once more and exited the room.

"I wonder why he's back?" Brody said.

"Or how he found us," Skyler added.

"What do you mean?" Minnie asked Skyler.

"Before your family came to live on terra Mar, Jaden left for training at the sky knight academy on Terra Rex, the program usually takes about two years. I wonder if Jaden finished early."

"So that explains why he is so..." Minnie stood up straight trying to imitate Jaden's regal posture.

Skyler nodded. "He has changed a lot."

Jaden opened the door to the armory and leaned on the doorpost observing the room. hundreds of weapons hung from the walls, most of them guns that Jinny had collected over the years. In the middle of the room was a work table in which Jinny had fallen asleep at. Jaden stalked into the room to look around. Jinny woke up, sensing someone in the room. Her training kicked in immediately, keeping her breathing regular while her head remained on the table and her hand searched for the nearest gun. She felt the cold metal and her fingers and gripped the handle and set it to fire. Jinny jumped out of her seat and aimed at the intruder.

"Don't move." Jinny warned, the light in the armory was reduced to one florecent light, making it hard to see her intruder.

"Jinny, it's me. Jaden." He pleaded without hesitation.

She immediately recognized Jaden's voice and dropped the gun. Jinny ran into her brother's arms, his big bulk almost enveloped her entirely, save for her two arms wrapped around his midsection. She hugged him tightly cutting off most of his air supply.

"I'm so glad you're back!" She said into his chest.

"I am too" Jaden said hugging her back.

Jinny loosened her grip on Jaden "Why are you back?" She asked seriously looking into his eyes.

Jaden took in a breath as if about to say something but smiled at his sister "You have quite a few guns, more than when I left." He said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah well, I get around. Don't change the subject." Jinny stared ar her brother until he spoke.

Jaden sighed "I left the academy."

"You were kicked out?" Jinny said loudly.

"No! I just-" Jaden couldn't think of the right words.

"You just what? You wouldn't leave the academy without a reason." Jinny said trying to get it out of him.

"The principle and the instructors they-" Jaden stumbled over his words. "They- This one instructor came to the lessons either drunk or hungover. It was inappropriate and created an unsafe environment for the young ones. I had to look out for them, so I called the instructor out on it. When he sent me to the principle I tried to explain the situation but he didn't believe me. Nothing was done about it and my instructor didn't change his habits. I couldn't stay there and watch."

"So you left the younger ones to fend for themselves." Jinny crossed her arms in disapproval.

"Well, not exactly." Jaden covered his mouth to hide his grin "I gave the instructor a little parting gift that will hopefully put him in his place. Which is why I can't go back now."

"Oh no." Jinny's eyes widened.

Jaden nodded "Let's just say, he'll have no more to drink for a long while."

Jinny rolled her eyes, "Anyway I'm glad you're here. I need help cleaning the guns. You and I are the only ones who know gun weaponry well enough to do it right." Jinny picked up a gun that was twice as long as her forearm and dropped it in Jaden's arms.

Jaden laughed "Alright." He said as he examined the gun in his hand. "So what about you? What's new around the ship? Personally I think Brody had gotten taller since the last time I saw him. I also noticed some damage to the Falcon's outer hull. Mind explaining that?"

Jinny was already hard at work with another gun "Honestly, we don't know who it was who attacked us. We're on our way to the wayside to hopefully find some answers."

"Hmm, it looks like you survived the attack though."

"Barely. Skyler was a lifesaver and took a whole cruiser down by herself! But we all fought our battles. Next time the Dark Ace won't be so lucky to get away." Jinny said determined.

"You fought the Dark Ace?" Jaden said shocked, nearly dropping the gun he was cleaning.

"You know him?" Jinny replied in the same shocked tone.

"Yeah, he's a Cyclonian General and Master Cyclonis' most loyal ally." Jaden explained.

"I don't know who Master Cyclonis is or what his game is, but if he ever-" Jinny spoke angrily but was cut off."

"His? Cyclonis is a girl, and a powerful crystal mage. She wants to take over and rule Atmos."

"Is she powerful enough to?" Jinny asked frightened.

"I don't know. She might be. She is the number one enemy of Atmos right now."

"We have to stop her!" Jinny stood from her chair.

"Don't worry, we won't let her win. We just have to be careful who we talk to. believe it or not, she has many allies all over Atmos. As far as I'm concerned she can stay on Cyclonia where she belongs." Jaden said, giving his full attention to his work.

"Lets got there and give Master Cyclonis a piece of our minds!" said Jinny encouragingly.

"All in good time, there's no need to be hasty. But next time you fight the Dark Ace, don't forget to let me kick him where it hurts." He smiled at his sister.

"What about the Dark Ace? What if he shows up again with more of those-"

"Talons, They are called Talons." Jaden ended her sentence and stood meet her at eye level. "And if they do, we will beat them!" Jaden said putting a comforting hand on Jinny's shoulder.

"Yes we will." Jinny smiled at Jaden. She remembered how hungry she was when her stomach growled. She tried rubbing it to calm it down, but it didn't work. "Let's go get some breakfast, I'm starving!" Jinny said, walking out of the room. Jaden followed after her.

The dining hall was small and nearly empty. In the middle of the hall was a small table that had no tablecloth and was filled with cold leftovers. Skyler and Brody were already there eating the food that Minnie had set out.

Jaden scratched his head "You eat here?" baffled at the situation. Jaden was used to the gourmet food at the academy.

"Yep!" Jinny said as she sat down with the others and started serving herself.

Jaden sat down next to his sister at the squishy table. Jaden observed the food and after careful consideration took a few rolls thinking " _These don't look too bad"_. When he took a bite he gauged at the taste. Jaden tried to hide his disgust by putting his hand over his mouth. When he couldn't bare the torture no longer he spat it out and it flew across the table onto Skyler's plate.

Skyler looked up at Jaden's apologetic face, glaring playfully. She used her fork to scoop the half-chewed food off her plate.

She held up her fork to Jaden. "This came from you right?"

Jaden coughed nervously "Yes but, it was an accident. I'm sorry." He bowed as low as he could while sitting in his chair.

Skyler looked at him with a serious face "Not as sorry as you will be." Without another word she let it loose and flinged the food and hit Jaden's face.

"Food fight!" Brody called out grabbing all the contents of his plate and threw it at Jinny, making a massive food pie out of her face.

Jinny wiped the food from her eyes and grabbed a handful of corn and threw it back at Brody. Brody deflected most of it with his now empty plate and it fell all over Skyler drawing her away from the brawl she was having with Jaden. Now all four of them were in a full on food war using whatever was within arms reach that resembled food. Just then Minnie walked into the dining hall. Frozen with shock at the sight, Minnie dropped the bowl of rice she had just prepared. The four stopped when the heard the bowl break against the floor and turned their eyes to Minnie. Skyler and Jaden stood up in synchronization and straightened themselves out, wiping off food and fixing their hair.

"We just uh- had a small problem with the rolls, and the corn..."Skyler tried to explain.

Minnie remained silent looking into the hall now covered in food.

Jaden coughed again "I apologize, I usually don't participate in such childish things." He turned to Brody "You needed my help with the engine right? We should get on that."

Brody followed Jaden out of the hall quickly.

"Hold on a minute!" Minnie said as she ran down the hall after them.

When she caught up to the boys Minnie held out her hand to reveal it full of rice. Jaden braced himself for what was to come. Minnie clenched her hand and released the ball of sticky rice making a direct hit on Jaden's face.

"That, is for messing up my dining hall." Minnie said, after she had turned around and started walking back to the dining hall.

Jaden wiped most of the rice of his face, but some of the more sticky rice still stuck. He looked down at Brody who was about to burst out laughing.

"I deserved that." Jaden said. It was then that Brody let out laughing. "Hey, Stop laughing and accept your punishment like a man."

Brody's laughter slowed to a halt as he analyzed what Jaden said. "Punishment?" He asked wide-eyed.

Jaden smiled "I'm sure you can fix whatever problem the engine is having by yourself." Jaden turned away and walked back down the hall leaving Brody alone with vague instructions and what he had to do.

Jaden walked back to the dining hall and found Minnie cleaning up. Skyler and Jinny had obviously left, they had other things to do.

Jaden stepped into the room and asked "May I help?" Minnie turned to look at Jaden "It will get gone faster with two people." He smiled.

Minnie raised an eyebrow "You very strange. You say polite things and at the same time mean things. You're a polite jerk."

Jaden went red with embarrassment. He hadn't realized what he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know- I was just trying to-"

"Why do you keep saying sorry?" Minnie said trying to figure out the answer. When Jaden didn't reply Minnie continued "Anyway, help would be much appreciated." She smiled.

After about an hour Jaden and Minnie finished cleaning the dining hall and kitchen. As they were finishing drying off the dishes they heard the engine stop.

"Oh not again." Minnie said putting down the dish she had been holding and ran out of the room.

"What's wrong?" Jaden yelled as he ran after Minnie.

"Brody probably tried to fix the engine problem by himself. He can't fix a wind-up toy to save his life!" Minnie replied.

Minnie turned the corner and collided with Jinny who was running from the other direction. As they got up Brody came running from the direction of the engine room

"Help! I don't know how to stop it!" Brody cried as he approached them.

"Brody, what did you do?" Jinny asked him grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him in the eye.

"I don't know! It started making this weird sound and when it shut off I ran!" He replied still yelling through his tears.

Jinny hugged him close to comfort him. "You stay here. Jaden, let's go see what the problem is."

Jinny let Minnie take Brody and she and Jaden made their way down the corridor. When they got to the engine room, the door was shut. Jinny tried to open it but it was searing hot and burnt through her glove and singed her hand. She pulled away quickly and held in a yell. Jaden took her wrist and examined it.

"I'm fine, we can deal with it later." Jinny said to her brother.

Jaden nodded "Alright. We need to open this door." He drew his gun from the holster he had on his back. The gun was small and simple but was still compatible for crystal usage. Jaden took out a crystal that was diamond shaped and had many small crystals attached around the centre. "The best way to put out a fire."

Jinny examined it closely. "A Geyser Crystal! How did you get one of these?"

"I have my sources." Jaden winked.

A Geyser Crystal creates a huge blast of water, when used right. Jaden loaded it into his gun hoping for the best. Jaden took the safety off his gun so that the blast would be more powerful. He held it up from a distance and, with Jinny behind him, he shot. The blast was more powerful than he expected but he managed to stand his ground and hold the gun straight. Jinny pulled out a Frost Crystal and threw it at the impact zone where the water from the Geyser Crystal hit the door. The door and the thick stream of water froze, Jaden quickly retrieved his gun.

"Why did you do that?" Jaden asked Jinny as she walked over to the door.

Jinny kicked the frozen metal door with full force. The door bent out of shape and even cracked in a few places. "I was thinking of the fastest way. The combination of the Geyser Crystal and the frost crystal was the best I could come up with, and it worked." She said placing her hand on her hips as if to say ' _my idea was better than yours'._

"I don't suppose you have another one. If we are going to figure out what's wrong before the Falcon goes down we need to get close enough to check it out."

Just then Skyler came running down the corridor with a crate of Frost Crystals.

"Did someone order Frost Crystals?" Skyler said as she slowed.

"So you got my message?" Jinny asked her friend.

"What message?" She asked as if she truthfully didn't know what Jinny was talking about but then broke down. "Yeah I did."

"Well let's get to work." Jaden said grabbing three crystals. He threw the first one in and froze the ground and the walls close to the entrance.

Jinny gave him an unimpressed face "Smooth move."

Jaden was the first to enter the engine room. He dropped the second crystal too soon and froze his feet to the already frozen ground.

"Oh great." Jaden said in a ' _I give up'_ tone.

Jinny put her face in her hands at the sight of Jaden's miscalculation.

Skyler took a few crystals herself. "This engine just keeps giving us problems!"

She squeezed through the tiny opening Jinny had made and maneuvered past Jaden and threw a Frost Crystal, this one managed to get close enough to the engine to see what was wrong. Skyler peered through the steam they had created with the frost and the heat.

"Well, the engine is fine but what's this?" Skyler shuffled over to the crystal converter. "Someone filled the converter with Firebolt Crystals instead of Fuel Crystals. The main reactor is overheating!"

"Who would put Firebolt Crystals in the converter? Not even Brody is that stupid." Jinny said to both Jaden and Skyler.

"Maybe it was actually someone really clever." Said a voice from behind.

Jinny spun around to find the Dark Ace standing a few steps behind her.

"This time will be different."Jinny said quietly but was overheard by the Dark Ace.

"Awe, still upset that I got away last time? You got lucky miss, I came to finish my mission."

Jinny drew her guns from their holsters "Then let's finish it."

"Wait, Jinny! We'll fight him together!" Jaden said even though his feet were still frozen to the ground. Where did Jinny adopt this impulsive attitude? She could get herself killed. Jaden thought.

The Dark Ace raised and eyebrow then laughed at Jaden's defeated state. "Pathetic. But truthfully I would have liked to have at least one of my Firebolt Crystals back, but I guess I'll just have to deal without." The Dark Ace pulled out a Blocking Crystal. A crystal that can block the energy from other crystals rendering them useless. "And so will you." He shot the energy from the Blocking Crystal and it spread throughout the corridor. Now with Jinny unable to use her gun, she dropped one of them keeping the other one up at eye level. She would have to rely on her hand-to-hand combat skills. The Dark Ace again, raised his eyebrow as Jinny charged at the Dark Ace and brought her arm holding the gun around, using the hard metal to cause more damage than her fist would have. Her fist and gun went straight through what Jinny had thought was the Dark Ace, but he remained unharmed. Jinny looked at her gun and at the Dark Ace, clearly shocked at the different outcome.

The Dark Ace remained still as he spoke. "Isn't this fun? I don't know if you've ever heard of a Chroma Crystal. I'm not actually here, Right now what you see is a hologram."

Jinny tried punching again with the same result "Where are you coward!" She yelled.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. In fact, right about now." The hologram replied and disappeared.

Just then the ship shook. Jaden had been viciously hacking away at the ice the encased his feet and Skyler tried to help him. Brody came running down the corridor yelling as he came nearer to them what he was saying was more clear.

"Skyler! They're back! The Cyclonians are attacking again!" He yelled almost in delight.

"Really? it's only been six hours and they found us?

Skyler was thinking hard for a plan, any plan. "Jaden and Jinny, I need you two at the front, tell Minnie to fill the ships cannons with any crystals we can spare, I'll work with Brody to fix the converter problem."

Jinny and Jaden ran into the launch bay where their skimmers were waiting for them.

"What's the plan?" Jaden asked his sister who had already mounted her skimmer.

"Don't lose." She said just before she took off.


	3. Chapter 3

Minnie ran to the crystal storage room on the Falcon and pulled out all the crates of unsorted crystals that hadn't had a chance to sort through yet. The Falcon had four main cannons each located at a different spots on the exterior of the ship. Minnie rushed as fast as she could to load the cannons but soon decided that the two she had loaded would have to be enough. The Falcon had already taken on critical damage from before and she hadn't had enough time to make the necessary repairs. Minnie knew that either if they won or lost, this battle wouldn't last long.

Brody slipped and nearly fell when he entered the engine room with Skyler. The firebolt crystals were still blazing hot and did not appear to be cooling down with any method they used.

Skyler yelled in anger "Nothing is working!"

"Wait!" Brody exclaimed. "I have an Idea!" He slipped through the opening in the door and picked up Jaden's useless gun and took out the geyser crystal.

"Brody you know that crystal is useless now." Skyler said in disbelief.

"No it's not. The Dark Ace was a hologram, wich means the crystal that he used can`t have affected our weapons!

"Brody you're a genius!" Skyler ran and hugged her younger Brother. "I could kiss you right now! But I won't."

"Please don't. Let's just hope it works."

As soon and Jinny's wheels left the landing strip she spotted the Dark Ace, with Jaden close behind her as she approached, she would not fail again.

"Jin wait up!" Jaden called from behind.

When Jinny got close to the Dark Ace, a talon shot her off her skimmer making her fall a few feet on to the terra below. Terra Amazonia; lush and beautiful and of unknown inhabitants. With beautiful sea blue waterfalls and gorgeous treetop views it was hard for anyone not to want to live there. Beautiful as it was, the terra was very dangerous and mysterious. Jaden brought his skimmer close and thrusted into the Dark Ace's. He then jumped forward off his skimmer tackling the Dark Ace to the terra. The Dark Ace wrestled to get away from Jaden as Jinny lay on the ground barely conscious. He brought his knee into Jaden gut causing him to release his grip and stumble back a few paces. Jaden went for his gun that would have been strapped to his leg holster, but it wasn't there.

"Missing something?" The Dark Ace asked smugly.

"I don't need a gun to win a fair fight, so let's have it!" Jaden said bringing up his fists readying himself.

The Dark Ace laughed, unsheathed his energy blade and dropped it into the ground accepting the challenge, it's hilt stuck out of the dirt here the blade had bit into. "The thing about me is," He took out a Solaris Crystal and used the sun's energy that was contained in it to blind Jaden momentarily. "I don't play fair." He continued as he got a few kicks and punches in while Jaden tried to regain his sight.

"Jaden!" Jinny got up and ran towards the battle. She thrusted her elbow into Ace's side throwing him to the ground.

The Dark Ace laughed "How lovely, having your girlfriend come and rescue you."

Jaden and Jinny exchanged confused looks and then smiled when they saw the Dark Ace's misunderstanding. The Dark Ace stood to his feet.

"This time, I'll go easy on you." The Dark Ace said confidently.

Jinny smiled again "I can't promise the same for you." She leaped through the air and came down with her foot ready for impact. The Dark Ace anticipated her moves and shifted out of the way. When she landed on the ground the Dark Ace got Jinny in a headlock. Jinny tried to pull the Dark Ace over her shoulder but he was too heavy, she started to panic. Jaden came from behind the Dark Ace and held his small crystal knife to his throat.

"Let her go." Jaden said with his knife almost touching Ace's throat.

"And if I don't" The Dark Ace asked daringly.

"Your talons will have to drag you dead body back to Cyclonia." Jaden replied in a serious tone.

The Dark Ace moved quickly, he elbowed Jaden in the gut and threw Jinny to the ground.

"You really thought I would just give up? You fools." The Dark ace pulled out a paralyzer crystal and quickly shot it at Jaden. He fell to the ground limp. The Dark Ace made ready to take another shot, but this time at Jinny. Jinny jumped to her feet and as the Dark Ace made his move she dodged the blast and advanced on him. Jinny started her attack by kneeing him in the gut, then crashed his head with hers giving them both and instant headache, she finished with swinging her arm around to gain momentum, and punching the Dark Ace on the side of his face. The Dark Ace nursed his aching jaw as he repositioned himself. Jinny drew her gun from its holster on her back and held it at her side waiting for Ace to make a move. The Dark Ace went for his energy blade but it wasn't there. He looked off to his left where he had dropped it. It was still there but far out of his reach.

Jinny raised her gun as if about to shoot "I'd stop wasting crystals and leave the terra."

"And why would I do that?" He asked her as he strengthened his stance.

"Look around you! There is no way you can get to your energy blade, you're running out of crystals and you're outnumbered two to one!"

"Actually, it's one to one." He said looking where Jaden had just been.

Jinny looked and ran to where Jaden wasn't. She anxiously searched for him but remembered she was in battle with the Dark Ace. She spun around to find him taking off into the Skies. Jinny had to make a choice, look for her brother, or go after her enemy.

Minnie wasn't having any success with the crystals she had loaded into the cannons. The first one that was shot turned out to be a Rainbow Smoke Crystal and the next few were raw, unrefined crystals that were no match against Cyclonian Flight Carriers and Talons. She grasped the lever to shoot again, hoping that this time it would be something useful. It shot into the sky and a sphere of purple energy shot out revealing a message crystal that read "Insert massage".

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Minnie threw her arms down by her sides in anger.

"That should do it." Skyler said as she closed the hatch on the crystal converter.

She and Brody worked fast after the Geyser Crystal frosted the Firebolt Crystals. They refilled the converter with Engine Crystals instead of Fuel Crystals to give the Falcon the power it needed to survive the attack.

"Lets got see if Minnie needs help!" Brody said as they ran down the hall.

"You go help Minnie, I'll help at the front with Jaden and Jinny." Skyler replied about to turn the corner.

"Then you'll need this." Brody tossed Jaden's gun to Skyler "Jaden will want it back."

Skyler smiled and messed up his hair affectionately and ran a different direction.

Brody ran onto the flight deck where Minnie was. She yelled when she saw another unsuccessful hit.

"Are you okay?" Brody asked in a frightened tone.

"No, I am not okay! Every single crystal in these crates completely useless!" Minnie said in a raised voice which Brody rarely heard.

He walked over to the crates of crystals and observed them. "Uh, did you get them from the left side of the storage room?"

"Yes, where we keep the powerful crystals." She said confidently pushing a short black strand of hair away from her face.

"No, we keep the powerful crystals at the back, These ones are the ones we haven't sorted through yet."

Minnie's face showed both shock and rage. "Then I-" She pointed disbelievingly at the cannons "And you-"

Brody nodded "I'm sorry. I thought you'd know."

"Well I obviously don't know!" Minnie blurted impolitely at Brody.

Brody's eyes began to fill with tears, the thing he hated the most was when he messed things up for other people. He hated it more when people yelled at him for it.

When Minnie noticed Brody's change in emotion she crouched down beside him. "Brody, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out at the current situation and took it out on you. You did nothing wrong. It was my misunderstanding." She grabbed and hugged him tightly and he hugged her back. "Now, let's go kick some Cyclonian tail." She said looking deep into his eyes. Brody smiled mischievously. It was then that Minnie noticed it. The Falcon had stopped shaking from the oncoming blasts. She ran to the window and looked out. She saw the Cyclonian Cruisers retreating, followed by the Talons.

When Minnie turned and looked at Brody he shrugged and said "That was easier than I thought." Minnie glared at him

Skyler had just mounted her skimmer when the bay doors opened. Jinny converted from flight mode to ground mode as she slowed her skimmer and eventually stopped.

"Skyler!" Jinny said through her quickened breath and pounding heartbeat. "I lost Jaden! We were fighting the Dark Ace and he was shot with a paralyser crystal and then he just disappeared! And I saw the Dark Ace take off shortly after I realized! I think the Cyclonians took Jaden captive!


	4. Chapter 4

Jaden woke to a starlit sky. Thinking he had just woken from a dream, he turned over to lay on his other side, feeling completely peaceful. Realization shook him awake. He shot up hitting his head on a wooden beam that spanned across the room. Rubbing his head he took in his surroundings. The room was made entirely out of wood, possibly hollowed out. The light fixtures were decorated with shapes of crescent moon and stars dangling delicately. From where he was sitting, he could tell he was several feet off the ground. He slowly lowered himself down the ladder at the foot of the bed and walked over to the center of the room where a rug made out of vibrant pinks, greens, and yellows was laid out. Located on the back wall of the room was the fireplace. It was burning, making the room feel warm and welcoming. Jaden walked over to the fireplace and observed the mantle. The mantle itself was painted light pink with intricate carvings painted other bright colors. On top of the mantle was a bowl of smooth stones, and candlestick with a candle burning on it filling the room with a sweet aroma. The next thing he noticed was a needle and thread. Jaden picked it up and examined the blandness of the white thread. He found it ironic considering the other vibrant colors in the room.

"Hello," said a quiet voice from above.

Jaden was startled and whipped around without a thought and looked up into the rafters of the small wooden room. He saw a shadow on one of the beams but couldn't make out any distinct features.

"Jinny?" He asked the shadow. "Is that you?"

Gracefully and elegantly, a girl with long blonde hair descended from the rafters. She looked like a woman, but seemed so innocent, so young still.

"You're not Jinny." he stated stupidly.

"Who's Jinny?" The girl asked, giggling adorably

"Um, she's my sister." He said still confused, he decided she was not a threat and answered her question. Then turned the question on her "Who are you?"

She smiled as she cheerfully said "I'm Nyota!"

Jaden, remembering his manners and what he learned at the academy, he straightened up and said "Nice to meet you. My name is Jaden."

Nyota, now feeling uncomfortable stood up straight too. The two of them stood there awkwardly for a few moments looking anywhere but each other.

"Where am I?" Jaden finally asked.

"Terra Amazonia." Nyota replied surely.

"And you live here?" Jaden asked.

"Yes, for about- Well, I don't really know how long, Maybe a few months." she said ignorantly.

"How can you not know for sure?"

"I just don't." Nyota's mind switched to other matters. "Oh! I found your skimmer!" She said excitedly.

Without realizing the subject change, Jaden asked hopefully "Really? Where?"

"It almost fell into the Wastelands. I found it on one of the lowest land levels on the terra."

Jaden looked at her confused "I'm still on terra Amazonia? Where one the terra am I right now?"

"Deep in the forest. If you try to go alone, you'd be lost within minutes." Terra Amazonia was jagged and uneven, with cliffs covered by waterfalls flowing into the Wastelands and massive trees growing out of the ground on every level, it was known to be one of the most dangerous terras on Atmos.

"Then how did you find me?" He asked her.

"I know how to get around." Nyota gracefully walked over to the fireplace and grabbed the thread and needle. She sat down and the round rug with a wad of fabric and started to sew.

"What are you making?" Jaden asked as he sat down beside her.

"A new dress. This one is- well." She felt the metal clip that held her dress together at the top and tightened it to keep it from breaking more.

Jaden cleared his throat uncomfortably "So, about my skimmer; Will you take me to it?"

"I will tomorrow." She replied vaguely, clearly paying more attention to sewing then the conversation.

"What?" Jaden said in an annoyed tone "Why can't we go now? I have to leave! My sister and the others need my help!"

"It's too dark now. We have to wait till tomorrow. Plus Granny will be back soon and I don't want to worry her." Nyota said sweetly.

"Who's 'Granny'?" Jaden said nervously.

"She is the one that found me, she's been taking care of me ever since."

"Found you?" Jaden asked confused, although it seemed like Nyota didn't even know the whole story.

A voice called up to them from below. "Nyota dear!"

"She's back!" Nyota jumped up and ran out the opening in the wall that lead to the veranda.

Jaden followed Nyota out and looked down at the ground that was so far away. Jaden held onto the railing for comfort. He didn't usually experience vertigo, but flying on a trustworthy vehicle in open sky was completely different then looking down from a makeshift tree house. Nyota was already halfway down the stairs of the treehouse when Jaden saw her again.

Nyota ran up to the elderly woman, hugged her and took the basket from her. The woman had overwhelmingly curly hair that had twiggs caught in the mess and was hunched over no doubt due to a bad back. Her pale green eyes were surprisingly kind looking. Jaden finally reached the bottom and looked back up to the treehouse.

Jaden was spotted by the old woman "Oh, who's this tall drink of water?" She asked. Nyota laughed nervously. "No matter, I will know soon enough." The old woman winked at her.

Jaden's eyes widened in fear. " _Who is this lady?"_ he thought to himself.

"Come young ones, I will brew some delicious tea." The lady said as she ascended the stairs followed quickly by Nyota.

Jaden seriously considered running into the forest but then remembered what Nyota told him. Jaden got to the top of the stairs five minutes later and wondered how a woman so old could climb them daily. Jaden sat down beside Nyota as they waited for their tea.

"What's your name young man?" Granny asked Jaden.

Startled Jaden replied "Jaden. My name is Jaden."

"A good strong name. You sound like a capable Atmosian. How do you fare against Cyclonians?"

"Talons are easy it's the nightcrawlers I have to be more careful with." Jaden explained.

Nightcrawlers; hooded creatures from the far side of Atmos. Silent and stealthy, they are the perfect assassin and ally to Master Cyclonis. No one knows how these mysterious creatures got into Atmos, but there was no doubt that Master Cyclonis was behind it. In fact, no one had ever been to the Far side until Master Cyclonis found the door. The door was recovered from an ancient temple on Terra Tropica, but no one on Atmos knew much more about it except Cyclonis herself.

"Nyota, I see you've found some fitting fabric. I can't wait to see how it turns out, and I bet Jaden does too." She winked at Jaden making his face turn red out of embarrassment.

"Thank you. I think it will turn out really good!" Nyota smiled proudly.

Granny came over with a jug filled with tea. Jaden noticed the lack of teacups and was about to ask about it when Nyota took the jug and set it down in the middle of them.

"Uh Granny, you forgot them again." Nyota said.

"Hm? Oh, silly me." Granny said. She jumped up and walked a few steps to the kitchen area and grabbed two clay cups. "You guys enjoy the tea, I'm going to sleep. I'm so old now my bedtime is earlier than it used to be." She laughed hysterically and walked up the narrow staircase that led into the attic.

"She lives up there?" Jaden asked.

"Yes, and so do I." Nyota said happily.

"Then I guess I'll be down here then?"

"That's right, where you woke up." She replied cheerfully.

"Oh. There." he looked over to where he had woken up. A small feather pillow and a thin quilt blanket lay on the bed above the big window. "Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning then."

"Yep! Goodnight!" Nyota said calmly.

"We have to go after them!" Jinny said in a worried tone.

"I agree with you. But we are so far away from Cyclonia. it will take us days to get there, and by that time who knows what they will have done to Jaden." Skyler said honestly.

"Don't we have a Velocity Crystal or something? We have to get there as fast as possible!"

"We used our last one when Brody needed a pit stop because the toilet on the ship was clogged up." Minnie said glaring at Brody.  
"Don't look at me, I steer away from gassy foods." Brody said trying to convince them otherwise.

"This talking is not going to get us to Cyclonia any faster!" Jinny yelled. "Is there any way we can go faster?" She directed the question at Minnie.

"The Falcon is already going max speed. Maybe if we lose some cargo, the ship move faster?" Minnie suggested.

"Great thinking!" Skyler said. "Alright people look through the whole ship. Anything we don't need, ditch. And yes Brody that means your rock collection."

Brody looked up at Skyler with sad eyes as if to ask if she meant it.

"Set course for Cyclonia!" Skyler ordered.

The next day Jaden woke up in the same wooden room. He closed his eyes still hoping it was all a dream, but when he opened them again the reality remained. He got up and looked around. The trees allowed some of the morning sun to shine down through the treehouse's windows creating a warm, homey feel. Nyota and Granny didn't seem to be around. Thinking they got an early started to the day Jaden walked out on the veranda to go find them. After all, Nyota needed to take him to his skimmer. After that, he'd be on his way back to his sister and the Crystal Raiders. Never to see Nyota or Granny again. For a moment Jaden closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh morning air. The cool breeze filled his throat and Jaden felt calm and peaceful. He watched as Amazonian birds flew by in their flock. He descended the stairs of the tree house looking for Nyota.

"Where is she?" he quietly asked himself.

Jaden walked around behind the tree to find a lump of something covered with a tarp. He removed the tarp, revealing a machine hardly fit for flying; a skimmer made out of scrap metal. Jaden couldn't help but immediately go to work at fixing the beat up ride. At least he assesed that ground travel could still be possible for this vehicle. Most of the pieces seemed to be there, although not properly attached. All Jaden had to work with was a wrench he was lucky to find and his bare hands. About an hour later he finished, he walked the skimmer around the tree and leaned it there for the time being while he waited for Nyota and Granny to get back. It was then Jaden smelt something brewing from up in the treehouse. Thinking that they must have returned, he ran up the steps into the main area to find Granny and Nyota sitting down together. When Jaden entered Nyota stood revealing a multi colored dress with on short sleeve on her left shoulder.

"You found your way back?" Nyota asked Jaden.

"Hm? Oh, I didn't leave. I was exploring the land a little but never went far." He said as he scratched the back of his head. "I like your dress," he commented at last.

"Thank you! Granny helped me finish it last night!" She said excitedly as she swayed her skirt back and forth.

Granny was in the kitchen area cleaning up after morning tea. "I know, I think so too!" she said to herself clearly to no one in particular, so then who was she talking to?

The two exchanged looks when they heard Granny. Jaden looked a little freaked out but Nyota remained unfazed. "It's normal for her."

"Oh." Jaden said "Anyway, about my skimmer, I really need to get going so could we-" Jaden gestured to the door indicated that he wanted her to lead him to his skimmer.

"Right. Granny, I'll be back in a couple of hours." She yelled into the kitchen.

"Okay have fun dear! and watch out for Bog Wolves!" Granny laughed as if it were a joke.

Nyota laughed back pretending it was. "Okay, we will. Bye Granny!"

When they reached the ground Nyota started to hastily make her way deep into the forest when Jaden called out "Wait!"

Nyota turned around "What is it?"

"I think this will get us there faster." Jaden said from beside the skimmer where he stood. "It probably won't fly, but it runs well on ground."

Nyota stood wide-eyed for a moment then squealed in excitement. "You fixed it! Thank you so much!" She threw her arms around his thick neck hugging him for a short moment, then releasing.

"Get on, I'll drive." Jaden said mischievously.

Nyota told him where to go as they sped through the forest. When they got to the edge of the terra, Jaden nearly drove off into the wastelands. Nyota jumped of when he stopped and ran down a narrow slope on the side of the cliff.

"Follow me." Nyota called to Jaden.

Jaden carefully followed her down and they found the skimmer at the bottom. Jaden quickly shuffled past Nyota to the Skimmer. He examined his skimmer and it appeared to be unharmed for the most part. Nyota helped Jaden bring it up to more stable ground to assess it further.

"Everything seems to be in order." Jaden said as he stroked it happily. "Thank you for finding it!"

Nyota smiled "My pleasure!"

"Well, I guess I'll be off then." Jaden said after a long silence.

"Fly safe. It was nice to meet you Jaden." She said kindly.

Jaden drove off and flew into the sky leaving Nyota behind with her rusty patched up skimmer. He flew above the musky clouds of Terra Amazonia and looked down on the terra. It was then Jaden realized that it wasn't clouds, it was smoke. The forest had been set ablaze, but by what? The air was humid enough that dry grass fires would not be the cause. Jaden looked earnestly for the source of the fire and realized the worst. The fire was close to Granny's treehouse. Jaden flew close to the raging flames and found the treehouse in the middle of it. He jumped off his skimmer and ran up the now blackened-crumbling stairs. Before he could enter the house the opening collapsed with Granny inside. Jaden could hear her calling out for help but felt hopeless knowing that he could not get to her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a pink blur he knew could only be Nyota. She swung from a thick vine from a tree close by and flew through the window breaking the glass. Nyota was inside the house looking for Granny. She ran up the narrow stairway into the bedroom and found her on the ground barely breathing.

"Granny, wake up!" Nyota called but Granny didn't respond.

She tried shaking her more and finally turned her over on her back. Granny opened her eyes and smiled.

"Go child, My time has come." Granny uttered through her smoke filled lungs.

"No Granny I'm going to save you!" Nyota insisted.

Nyota threw Granny over her shoulder and made for the window where she entered. Jaden had been working on making it bigger so that he could fit through but when Nyota came down he took Granny and pulled her through the window. After that Nyota followed. Nyota got on Jaden's skimmer holding onto Granny while Jaden dorve. He flew to a safe place higher on the terra and landed. By this time Granny was not in good shape.

"Is she alright?" Jaden asked.

"I'm afraid not." Nyota replied. "If we don't save her soon she'll-" Nyota was interrupted by Granny's coughing. Nyota laid her on the grass gently holding her up, Jaden crouched beside them.

"I'll be fine dear. And you will be too. Jaden will protect you now." Jaden blushed.

"Wait I will?" Jaden said when he realized what Granny said.

"Yes, it is my will that you see that she stays safe." Granny said and grabbed Nyota's hand and squeezed it. "You'll find out who you are and where you belong."

Granny closed her eyes. Thinking she was about to die Nyota buried her face in Granny's dress. Granny's human form started to shift. Her face elongated and she spawned wings and a tail. She flew away with no problem into the Atmosian sky.

"She's one of the elders." Jaden said in a surprised tone.

"What?" Nyota sounded confused.

"I thought they were all extinct. After Arygyn and the others left for the Farside."

"Who are the elders?" Nyota asked Jaden.

"They were the protectors of Atmos up until the Age of Hero. One day they all mysteriously left, leaving no reason or explanation as to why."

"So, kind of like guardian angels?"

Nyota thought of when Granny first found her. Nyota was wandering through the forest of Amazonia aimlessly when Granny found her and took her to the treehouse.

"Kind of." Jaden said breaking Nyota's train of thought.

After a long silence Nyota asked "So what now? Where am I to go?"

"I guess the best way I can be sure you stay safe is to take you to the Falcon. What do you say? Want to join the Crystal Raiders?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I mean, yes. I want to!" Nyota said with a smile.

"Great. Of course I can't make the final decision and neither can you. We have to talk to Skyler, our skyknight first."

"You're not the skyknight?" She asked in a surprised way.

"Well-" Jaden sounded embarrassed "I was a skyknight in training at the academy. But I recently joined the Crystal Raiders, because of my sister Jinny."

Jaden stood and picked up some sort of communication device from his Skimmer.

"I hope we're not too far away to reach them." Jaden looked into the sky hoping to see the Falcon. But alas it was not there. "Jaden calling the Falcon, repeat, This is Jaden calling to Skyler. Can you hear me?"


	5. Chapter 5

"We're getting close to Cyclonia." Minnie said to the group.

"I think ditching that junk really helped our velocity a lot." Skyler said encouragingly.

Brody was still upset about losing his rock collection

The Falcon's speaker came on " _Jaden calling the Falcon, repeat, This is Jaden calling to Skyler. Can you hear me?"_

"Jaden!" Jinny yelled excitedly "Where are you? Are you okay?"

" _I'm fine. I'm on terra Amazonia. Where are you? I'll fly my skimmer if it's not too far."_

"What? Amazonia? I thought you were kidnapped by Cyclonians. We're almost to Cyclonia but we're coming to get you. Stay there and stay safe." Jinny said. She turned to Skyler and said "He's alright." in a relieved tone.

Skyler nodded as if to say "I always knew he would be, and secretly you did too."

"They're on their way." Jaden said to Nyota who was sitting on the grassy clearing on terra Amazonia.

Nyota nodded and quietly said "Okay."

"Common, we need to get to higher ground. The flames will only keep rising." Jaden helped Nyota to her feet and the made their way to the top of the terra.

"We'll camp here for tonight. They should be here by morning." If the flames don't get us first Jaden thought as they reached the top. "You should get some sleep." He said to the very quiet Nyota. "Are you alright?"

"Hm? oh- yes, I guess I'm just-" Nyota looked up into the darkening sky.

Jaden put a comforting hand on her shoulder "She'll be alright."

Nyota hugged Jaden and started to cry "I miss her!"

Jaden was taken-aback. He stroked her beautiful long blonde hair "I know. I do too."

Jaden sat Nyota down at the base of a tree and used a Solaris Crystal he had packed away on his skimmer to keep the area warm, simulating a fire. He wouldn't risk an actual fire for obvious reasons. He stayed awake while Nyota slept, knowing that the forest was still dangerous with all the creatures lurking around looking for new homes and food. If anything came close he would deal with it.

As the sun was rising Jaden found his eyes were starting to close and he was drifting off the sleep. When he turned around to check on Nyota she was gone. Again. Jaden jumped to his feet and ran around the tree three times before looking up. Nyota sat there on a branch talking to a small bird that had perched on her knees. Jaden watched as she stroked her fingers on the bird's feathers. The bird flew away when it finally sensed Jaden. Nyota looked down and saw Jaden.

"Good morning! I didn't want to wake you." Nyota said as she descended the tree.

"What? I wasn't asleep I was watching out for danger." Jaden protested.

"Then what's that?" Nyota pointed Jaden's mouth that had a streak of drool running down it.

Jaden quickly wiped it off "Well, maybe I slept for a little bit."

"I watched you for about an hour and you never woke up." Nyota said innocently.

Jaden was about to ask why she watched him sleep but was cut of by the radio of his skimmer making noises. Jaden tuned it so that he could clearly hear it.

"Jaden come in. This is Skyler, do you read me?" Skyler's voice came through.

"Loud and clear." Jaden replied.

"We need your coordinates in order to find you."

"I'm sending you them now." Jaden said as he punched in the numbers into the navigation system.

"They'll be here in a couple minutes. " Jaden said to Nyota who had begun climbing the tree again. "Where are you going?"

"I must go the fairy people need me." She said all too seriously.

"What? That makes no sense!" Jaden called to Nyota but doubted she heard him. Maybe Nyota was crazy. He started to climb the tree after her but was nowhere near as fast. Nyota thought she grabbed a sturdy branch but it came loose and she started to fall. Jaden foolishly let go of the trunk he was holding onto to try and catch Nyota. Now, with both of them falling, all Jaden could do was cushion her fall. The impact would have been more painful if they had fallen onto a metal floor that Jaden was used to. But the grassy clearing was a nice alternative. Jaden grunted when Nyota stood to her feet.

"Don't try that again." Jaden said to her.

Nyota laughed. "That was really fun!" She jumped in the air out of excitement.

Jaden blinked his eyes in disbelief. "You're not the one who with bruised ribs."

"Oh. Sorry." Nyota said sympathetically. "So about the elders; I was thinking, is there a specific name for them? Or are they just called elders?"

"I believe they are called Mynall birds. They are brightly colored, as you saw, and they live on the most exotic terras. Like terra Amazonia."

"And, who is Arygyn?" She asked curiously.

Jaden smirked "He was called Arygyn the Skeeler, world famous warrior trainer. He trained some of the best skyknights on Atmos."

Just then Jaden spotted the Falcon descending on the terra. Jaden flagged them down so that they would land safely. By the time Minnie had the ship turned off Jinny was already running out to meet Jaden. She ran into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Stupid boy, why didn't you contact us sooner! I was really worried you had been taken by Cyclonians."

"I'm sorry, I had lost my skimmer and I had no other means of communication. Nyota here found and brought me to my skimmer. It wasn't far from where we battled the Dark Ace. By the way" Jaden remembered. "Did we beat him?"

"Unfortunately not." Jinny said biting her tongue. "He got away... AGAIN!"

Skyler came out right after Jinny and hugged Jaden "You really gave us a scare!"

"Haha I was fine!" Jaden said very convincingly. "Oh before I forget. This is Nyota. She saved me and took care of me. Now that Amazonia is in flames she has nowhere to go and she can't remember who she is. So I was thinking she could join us. Temporarily of course."

Skyler moved her eyes from Jaden to Nyota. "Nice to meet you Nyota." She said politely "I'm Skyler, skyknight of the Crystal Raiders."

"Oh!" Nyota squealed in excitement "I've heard so much about you!"

Skyler remained unphased "Hm. I see. I have a question for you Nyota."

"Okay!"

"Can you fly a skimmer?"

"Fairly well I believe."

"Can you navigate?"

"Mhm!" Nyota nodded.

"And what, is your speciality when it comes to a team such as ours?"

Nyota though for a moment and finally said "I know crystals!"

Skyler looked at Nyota from head to toe "Hm. Temporarily." Skyler said as an answer to Jaden's previous answer.

Nyota inhaled and shrugged her shoulders happily to show her excitement "Really? Thank you!"

"So you don't remember anything?" Jinny asked Nyota as they were all boarding the ship.

"Only my name. But sometimes I dream of people I don't know. I thought at first I made them up, but how could I with such distinct features." Nyota replied.

Minnie met them in the corridor "It's good to see you're okay Jaden, but who this is?"

Nyota cocked her head at Minnie's mispronounced sentence.

"This is Nyota. Skyler is letting her join us temporarily until she remembers who she is." Jaden said.

"Oh, nice to meet you! I'm Minnie!" Minnie introduced herself.

"Hello." Nyota said shyly.

"But um... Skyler, where is she going to stay? Jaden took our only guest room." Jinny said.

"Hm, I don't know." Skyler stroked her chin as she thought.

"She could stay in your room Skyler. It is the biggest one after all." Minnie suggested.

"What?" was the only words Skyler could get in before Jinny interrupted.

"Yeah, sounds like a great idea!" Jinny agreed with Minnie.

"I agree too!" Brody said running down the hall. Skyler, Jaden, Jinny, Minnie, and Nyota all looked at him confused. "Uh, weren't we deciding where to vacation?" Brody said foolishly.

Brody looked at Nyota confused at the strange woman who had boarded the ship. "Hi! I'm Nyota." She waved at Brody and smiled.

"Uh, hi." Brody waved back.

Later that night Jaden found himself out on the back balcony looking up into the sky. When he was going to the academy, he only ever saw what was inside concrete walls, he'd forgotten how beautiful the stars were. Jinny came out and stood beside him in silence for a while.

She pulled something out of her pocket "Do you remember this?" She held out both hand to reveal a circular, multi colored pendant."

Jaden took it and smiled "I made this out of scrap metal and gave it to you before I left Terra Mar. You still have it?" He asked.

"Mhm, believe it or not, it's my favorite possession." Jinny said as she wrapped her arm around his.

"Really?" Jaden said in disbelief.

"Yes. I think of you whenever I put it on. It kept you close."

"Awe," Jaden blushed. "Well, now that we're together there are many adventures waiting for us on the horizon."

"We can take on anything."


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay, here's the plan." Piper said brushing her midnight blue hair behind her ear as she hunched over a piece of paper. "Aerrow and Finn will sneak onto the Murk Raiders ship while Junko and Stork provide a diversion."

The Storm Hawks were all gathered around the center table on the flight deck. The squadron consisted of six members.

Aerrow was the sky knight, his fire red hair was spiked in many directions but still had style to it. He was a thin guy, but muscular all the same.

Finn, best shot on Atmos, he can shoot a crystal arrow from twenty leagues away and still hit the target. Finn thought that his blonde hair and rare blue eyes were a babe magnet but had never managed to lure any girl close.

Junko, a Wallop, was just as big as any Wallop but had a certain gentleness to him. Wallops are a very territorial species,and do not welcome outsiders on their terra. Most Wallops have a horn noses instead of a human looking noses and long pointed ears. These creatures are warriors, and every living being on Atmos knew it. To be missing a part of your ear or broken limb was a sign of a true Wallop and those Wallops were treated with respect and honor. Junko, on the other hand, didn't take pleasure in using his strength to harm other creatures but to protect his new family, the Storm Hawks.

The gang found Stork living inside the condor by himself. He ran away from his home on Terra Merbia after the Cyclonian invasion years back. When he found the old wrecked Condor he fixed it up. Thus Stork became a part of their team as the pilot of the Condor. Merbs are known for their unique talent in the repair field. They were unlike any other creature on Atmos. They had long faces and ears, and their skinny bodies hardly looked capable to hold up their own heads let alone lift heavy pieces of machinery.

Piper was the only female member of the Storm Hawks. She, Aerrow and Finn grew up together on Terra Neverlandis. As a child Piper loved studying crystals and the power each one held. She was smart, and cunning; a perfect addition to the squadron.

Then there was Radarr. No one knew for sure was species Radarr was, but they knew for sure there was no other creature like him. He looked like a cross between a Gorge Sloth from the Black Gorge and a rabbit. He couldn't talk but when he made sounds, Aerrow almost understood what Radarr was trying to say.

"That's great Piper," Aerrow said encouragingly. "But what part do you play?"

"Oh, I uh. I hadn't figured that part out yet." Piper smiled innocently.

Finn rolled his eyes "Typical. I say we all just blast them with a frontal assault and take what we need!" Since coming back from the far side of Atmos with the rest of the Storm Hawks, Finn seemed to have changed a little. His battle strategies were more violent, and he seemed to be less afraid of things and people such as the Murk Raiders.

"Finn, you know why we can't do that." Aerrow protested "These guys are not that easy to defeat. They have a fleet of ships and we only have one. Sure we had a few lucky wins on the farside, but we really need to think this through."

"Yeah, I'd take your plan into consideration if we were looking to get killed." Piper said argumentatively to Finn.

Finn raised an eyebrow at Pipers comment "Whatever, when have you guys ever listened to one of my battle strategies?"

"I'm sorry Finn, but Piper is more experienced in this field." Aerrow said sympathetically.

"Not to mention, these are the Murk Raiders. Last time we saw them they left the condor in a barely flyable condition." Stork said in the frightened tone that he always seemed to use when impending danger was about to occur.

Finn sat down on the couch that circled the centre table and crossed his arms and observed silently.

"Okay, maybe I can help Junko and Stork create a diversion. I have a few crystals I've been dying to try out!" Piper said still looking at her paper scroll.

"Sounds perfect." Aerrow said excitedly.

"Really?" Piper threw her arms around Aerrow "Thank you!"

Aerrow hugged her back awkwardly "Uh, you're welcome."

Junko and Finn exchanged weird looks and shrugged. Lately Piper had been more friendly to Aerrow than the other crew members.

Aerrow gently let go of Piper and stepped away just out of arm's reach.

"So, when do we arrive at Terra Deep?" Aerrow asked Stork.

"Soon." Stork said with a dark smile and a voice that seemed to carry the word doom with it.

"Thank you for cooking Minnie." Skyler said as the Crystal Raiders were just finishing their evening meal.

"You're welcome!" Minnie smiled.

"Brody, are you okay? Your usually all over supper. Or rather, its all over you. But you haven't said a word or eaten anything."

Brody sat there silent, staring at the newest member of the squadron. Since Nyota joined Brody had watched her very closely. Nyota seemed nice, but it was very mysterious how she couldn't remember anything except her own name. Nyota caught his gaze and smiled. She waved at him warmly and Brody blushed.

He turned away and realized Skyler had asked him a question. He could remember what it was so he replied "Yeah," and left it at that.

"Good. Then finish your supper and get to bed." Skyler said immediately after as if that were the answer she had been expecting. Supper was usually served late on the Falcon.

"Skyler's right" Jaden said when Brody groaned at the thought of going to bed. "We have a big day tomorrow."

Brody sat up straight "Are we finally taking a vacation?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, not exactly." was all Skyler said.

"Okay, this is game time people. Everyone in position!" Aerrow commanded the next morning. Aerrow and Finn were just about to head out onto the terra.

"Aerrow are you sure about this? Not taking a skimmer could be a very bad idea." Piper sounded concerned.

"Hey it me. I'll be fine." Aerrow smiled.

Piper then hugged Aerrow and kissed his cheek "Be safe." She whispered.

Aerrow looked confused "Piper I-" he was interrupted by Finn

"Aerrow it's time to go!" Finn yelled.

"We'll talk later." he said to Piper. He turned around and walked out the hangar bay with Finn.

The terra was hardly one at all. It was made up of a thousand thin pointed spits of land.

"Piece of cake, we'll have no trouble finding the mainland." Finn said is a sarcastic, upbeat tone. The spikes seemed nearly impenetrable.

Aerrow smiled at Finn's joke but noticed something move out the corner of his eye. He turned to see a huge wolf-like creature charging right at Finn.

"Finn watch out!" Aerrow cried.

Finn saw it in time to jump out of the way and draw his energy-powered crossbow. He loaded it with Frost Crystals at shot at the beast. With a successful hit, the creature froze to the earth below leaving only the head unfrozen.

"That was close." Finn said putting his crossbow away.

"Yeah. I wouldn't be so quick to put your weapon away. There will be more of them." Aerrow drew both his energy blades "Common, we don't have much time."

"So what you're saying is, Skyler gets a vacation and we have to sit around and wait for her to come back?" Brody said when they told him the plan, even though he didn't fully understand it.

Jinny thought about what Brody asked "Skyler is couting on us to moniter the skies while she is down there, as well as make sure she stays on track. This is most definitely not a vacation."

"If all goes well, this will just be a short recon mission." Skyler took over "I'm investigating the inhabitants of Terra Deep. Now, we already know that the Murk Raiders hideout is somewhere near the terra. So let's hope I don't run into any."

"Shouldn't you take someone with you?" Nyota asked Skyler.

"No, I need to do this alone. I'll meet you guys at the rendezvous point in a day." She replied. "I'll be going now." Skyler mounted her skimmer and flew out the bay and toward Terra Deep.

"So, why is it a big day for me?" Brody asked when Skyler was gone.

"Oh. You get to clean your room!" Jaden said laying a hand on his shoulder before Brody could get away.

"Are you joking? First you make me get rid of my rock collection and now my room?" Brody protested.

"What's the big deal?" Jinny asked foolishly.

"I was twenty three rocks away from having one rock from every known terra on Atmos." Brody said in more of a yell.

Skyler flew through the foggy clouds and found a mostly safe place to land. She started to unpack her research gear when she heard it. A high pitched sound coming toward her from the deep. Skyler couldn't believe her eyes. Volkabats. Native only to the Black Gorge, or so Skyler thought. These bats are only hungry for one thing; metal. They can eat up to two tons at a time with a decently sized swarm and they were headed straight for Skyler's skimmer. She knew it was a lost cause, so she grabbed what she could and ran, only looking back once to witness the destruction of her skimmer.

"Now what?" She asked herself hopelessly. She whipped around when she heard something behind her.

"Aerrow I see it!" Finn yelled. "The Raiders hideout!"

"Good work Finn, now pull me up!" Aerrow called back.

The two of them were scaling the thickest point on the terra hoping to find the hideout. Finn had reached a safe ledge more than ten feet above Aerrow's head. Aerrow was not much of a climber, himself but he made do. Before Finn started to pull him up Aerrow heard a strange sound from below. It didn't sound blood thirsty or hungry, but terrified.

"Finn, you go on. Don't wait up for me. If you find the crystal get it and get out fast." Aerrow said before he repelled down the rope they had drawn.

Aerrow landed softly on the ground below and ran in the direction that the sound was coming from. As he got closer he could tell it was a female calling for help. He ran around a small point and saw the scene playing out. A woman, not much older than he was, and a Boge Wolf nearing pouncing range. Before the wolf had time to pounce Aerrow hit it with a blast from his energy blades. Skyler and the wolf turned their attention to the source of the blast and saw Aerrow standing there heroically.

"Watch out!" Skyler called out.

Aerrow turned around to find another one coming straight for him. Skyler pulled out a small knife from her pocket.

"You think that's going to help?" Aerrow asked doubtfully when he saw the puny weapon.

One of the wolves pounced at Skyler but she fended it off like a pro. In the meantime Aerrow was pinned down by the second one, about to be devoured. Skyler thought quickly. She drew her weapons of choice. Two chakras with retractable spikes. These circular weapons could be powered by nearly any crystal on Atmos. She held one in each hand and jumped into the air in a spinning motion. She did this to get enough momentum for her skyknight move; what she called the Sphere of Light. Each skyknight had one unique move that they made up. Skyler had just recently found hers and decided to use it. The name itself explains what the move does. A powerful blast went out from her chakras and around the perimeter of where they were. It worked all too well, the wolves were knocked out, and so was Aerrow.

"I did it!" Skyler rejoiced "I'm able to do it at will!" She jumped up in the air with glee. She noticed the strange guy that had just tried to rescue her now on the floor. "Oh no. Oh great! What have I done?" She ran over to him and pushed the heavy lump of wolf off of him so that he could breath. "Oh please be okay. Come on! Wake up!" She said lightly slapping his face half hoping he wouldn't wake up, but he did.

Skyler stood and watched as his eyes opened. "What was that?" Aerrow groaned.

"The Sphere of Light." Skyler said.

Aerrow turned his head and saw Skyler standing before him "Sphere of Light?" He asked.

"My skyknight move. I'm Skyler, the skyknight of the Crystal Raiders." Skyler said proudly.

"Crystal Raiders?" Aerrow asked in a confused tone.

"Yes, then you've heard of us?" She asked hopefully.

"Well, no. At least I don't think I have. Sorry." he replied.

Skyler sighed "It's okay. Very few people have heard about us."

"Try and keep it that way, you don't want to have to deal with Cyclonians. If they know you exist, you're doomed."

"It's too late for that." Skyler said in a serious tone.

Aerrow looked at Skyler "How bad was it?"

"We were attacked twice in one day. The Dark Ace was leading them."

Aerrow's eyebrows creased in anger when he heard the name.

"Do you know him?" Skyler asked.

"He betrayed and killed my father." Aerrow replied with gritted teeth.

"I'm so sorry." Skyler closed her eyes and imagined if she were in his situation and hoped it would never happen to her.

"I don't expect you to understand." he said spitefully.

They sat in silence for a while being each other's company.

"You never told me your name." Skyler finally said.

"My name's Aerrow. I lead the Storm Hawks." He smiled.

"Nice to meet you." She shook his hand. It was then that the name registered "Wait. What? The Storm Hawks?" Aerrow nodded. "You saved Atmos a couple years back! The Storm Hawks is the only squadron to leave the known Atmos and come back from the Farside alive!"

"Yes, I know." he said sarcastically. "But we failed."

"No you didn't. If you had, Cyclonis would be ruling Atmos."

"Yes, but we didn't stop her fully. She still plans to take over Atmos."

"We'll just have to make sure she doesn't; together" Skyler smiled confidently.

Aerrow smiled back. "So Skyler, tell me more about your squadron. What terra do you protect?"

"Well. Our home terra, Terra Mar, already has a squadron. The Dancing Seals. My best friend Jinny and I grew up dreaming about making our own squadron to protect Atmos. Kind of like the legacy you're carrying on from the original Storm Hawks."

"So, you left your terra?" Aerrow asked.

"Not permanently. We're going back at some point." Skyler continued. "At first it was just three of us. Jinny, Minnie, and myself. Three members when we launched. It wasn't a day later when we realized my younger brother Brody, stowed away on our ship. He begged me to let him stay. Jinny's brother Jaden was a skyknight in training but left the academy to join us. Maybe he'll go back someday. Anyway, Jaden found Nyota on Terra Amazonia. Being that we accidently left him behind he spent some time with her and an elderly woman."

"That's great and all, but I meant more like, What are everyone's positions." Aerrow interrupted.

"Oh." Skyler said as she turned pink. "Jinny, my right hand girl, is a weapons specialist. Jaden is teaching Brody how to repair and maintain the important machinery on the Falcon, our ship. Nyota is a talented crystal mage and specialist. Minnie is our carrier pilot and mathematical engineer. Which means she figures out the smart stuff." She winked. "But everybody helps out in every area somewhat."

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out." Aerrow stood up. "One more question." he said as he helped Skyler up.

"Okay? What?" She asked.

"Why did you come to Terra Deep?"

Skyler sighed "I came to investigate its inhabitants."

"And? Find anything interesting."

"Volkabats; I thought they were only native to the Black Gorge. There's a whole flock of them here."

"Well, we're not far from the Black Gorge. They probably escaped and came her." Aerrow reasoned.

"That's what I thought at first too, but then as you know I've discovered Ixosian Bog Wolves. Only native to Terra Ixos."

"Terra Ixos? I've never heard of that terra." Aerrow said ignorantly.

"I think there's something bigger going on. We have to figure this out." Skyler chose not to answer his question, knowing that some Atmosians though Terra Ixos was a myth, and not a very good one.

"Excuse me, we?"

Skyler nodded "I need your help."

"I mean, i-it's just that I already-" Aerrow struggled to get the right words remembering his mission with Finn. " _He'll be fine on his own."_ he thought to himself. "I guess I can help out."

"Great!" Skyler said excitedly "But at this point we know next to nothing." She hung her arms at her side hopelessly.

"Don't worry, we have enough to work with." Aerrow tried to encourage her.

Skyler smiled up at Aerrow. "I have an idea! Not every terra has a native creature. So, what are some terras do we know that do?"

"I can think of two, Terra Blizzaris and Terra Xoam." Aerrow said after thinking for a short moment.

"You left out Terra Amazonia." Skyler added. "Okay so these three terras all have very different creatures living on them."

"Blizzarian furballs like to burrow himself underground to keep warm."

"We better start digging." Skyler said jokingly.


	7. Chapter 7

"Piper, no one put you in charge. We're a team, which means we make decisions as a team." Finn said when he had returned to the Condor after successfully completing his mission.

"I don't care what you guys say. I have to go save Aerrow!" Piper said ignoring Finn completely.

"No offence, but you'll be killed as soon as you land on the terra." Stork said nerotically. "You're better off waiting here with the rest of us."

"Aerrow told me to go on without him, and that's what we're going to do. We can come back for Aerrow, but right now Atmos needs our help." Finn said seriously. It made sense, their mission was more important and Finn was following a direct order from his skyknight.

"Come back for him? We can't just 'come back for him' . Like you said, it's dangerous down there! He could be killed!" Piper yelled through her tear filled eyes.

"Aerrow's capable of taking care of himself." Stork said "What we're not sure of is you."

"What about me." Piper asked, she was clearly offended.

"You're very prone to getting yourself into dangerous situations." Stork said bluntly.

"And when you're not in impending danger, you're always clinging to Aerrow like a lost puppy. It's weird." Finn cringed in disgust.

"I do not!"

"You're blushing." Stork observed.

"This looks like a burrow hole to me." Aerrow said as he crouched over the gaping hole in the terra."

"Why is it so big?" Skyler asked, looking into the dark hole before her.

"Furballs travel with their families and they don't burrow very deep. This particular hole is occupied. Infact, its new." Aerrow felt the loose dirt between his fingers.

"Great! Bliazzarian furballs are confirmed on the terra. What's next?" Skyler said excitedly and in a rushed tone.

"I think we have enough proof that something is going on. But we still don't know who is doing this."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"Let's head back to the Condor, we'll group up with your squadron and put our heads together."

"Sound like a plan!" Skyler ran off into a random direction. When she realized she didn't know which way she was going she circled back and found Aerrow again. "Which way to the Condor?"

Aerrow smiled "This is Aerrow calling Condor, I'm sending you my coordinates, do you read me?" he said into his earpiece.

" _Aerrow, you're okay!"_ Piper's voice was heard loud and clear.

"I'm fine. I assume you're on your way?"

" _Oh, we're here."_ Stork said quietly as if he were creeping right up behind Aerrow. The Condor descended on the terra and Skyler and Aerrow boarded immediately.

Piper ran out to meet Aerrow, Finn following behind at a much slower pace. She threw herself around him and hugged him tightly.

"I was scared you were going to die." Piper cried.

Aerrow once again looked confused. He let go of Piper and gestured to Skyler. "This is Skyler. Skyknight of the Crystal Raiders. I'm helping her with a mission."

"But Aerrow, we have our own mission." Finn said.

"I know, but I believe this is important." Aerrow replied. "More important than returning a safely retrieved crystal to it's rightful own for a day or so."

"Well, then tell us." Junko said eagerly. "What's the mission."

They all listened quietly as Skyler filled them in one the situation. She didn't know why or who was taking these creatures from their habitat, but she intended to find out. After the briefing Piper went up to Skyler to talk.

"I can't believe I'm meeting you!" Piper said when they were in private.

"You know who I am?" Skyler asked, confused.

"Oh I know your handy work anywhere."

"Really?" Skyler was getting excited that someone actually knew her.

"Well, I guess I should get back to my lab! See you Stryker." Piper obviously missed her name.

Skyler sighed. "Nope. You don't know who I am."

"Skyler!" Aerrow yelled from across the room as he walked over. "That was a very informative briefing. Thank you. My team may not know what we're up against but they know where to start looking. I'm sending Finn on a mission with Junko and Radarr to deliver the crystal, it should only take a few hours."

"Wait. Who's Radarr?" Skyler interrupted.

"My co-pilot." Aerrow said happily "Radarr buddy. Where are you?" he called to the general area.

The light blue colored creature emerged from behind a few crates in a near corner.

"Hello. Nice to meet you Radarr." Skyler said politely.

The blue creature made a welcoming screech that showed Skyler he was friendly.

"He can't talk?" Skyler asked Aerrow.

"Well no, he is an animal after all." Aerrow smiled. "But he-"

Aerrow was cut off by Piper's voice coming through his earpiece.

" _Aerrow I need to talk to you in my Crystal lab. Alone."_ Piper said.

"I'll be there in a minute." Aerrow raised an eyebrow "I won't be long."

"I'll hang out with Stork. Whatever he's doing must be interesting." Skyler Smiled.

"You called me?" Aerrow asked Piper as he entered the crystal lab.

"Yes," Piper put down her Crystal-o-meter. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay good. I do too."

"Do you like Skyler?" Piper asked bluntly.

"What? No. Why did you ask such a weird question?" Aerrow said.

"Then who do you like?" Piper persisted without answering Aerrow.

"I don't-"

"Don't what?"

"Like anyone." Aerrow finished.

"You don't like me?" She asked trying to get a specific answer out of him.

"Well, not like that. Piper we've been friends forever, but recently you've been acting differently. I'm not sure how to read into it." Aerrow explained.

Piper looked into Arrows eyes, hers filling with tears. "Why not?"

"'Why not' What? Why don't I like you? I'm sorry Piper but I think of you as my sister. To think of you any other way just doesn't feel right."

Piper didn't hold back the tears as she yelled. "You heartless jerk!" Piper then ran out of the room.

Aerrow sighed a sigh of relief. He was glad he got the truth out there, but at the same time, he felt bad for hurting Piper's feelings.

He walked to the hangar bay to do some maintenance on his skimmer. He hadn't been working for an hour before Piper walked into the bay with a backpack and her crystal staff.

"What's up Piper?" Aerrow asked as she mounted her heli-scooter.

"I'm taking a vacation. A very long vacation." Piper began. "I've decided to give you time to think about your feelings. I hope that when I come back, you'll feel the same way I feel about you."

"Piper, that's crazy talk. Where are you going to go?"

"Back to terra Neverlandis. Feel free to visit when you realize your true feelings." She then rode her skimmer out of the bay and into the sky.

Aerrow was joined in the bay by Stork and the others "Um, where's Piper going?" Stork asked. He couldn't keep his eye from twitching as it usually did.

Aerrow closed his eyes and sighed "She left. But hopefully she'll be back. For now, we stay on course to Terra Mar."

Skyler couldn't help the excited emotions she felt when Aerrow said 'Terra Mar'. She was going home. Or at least to the rendezvous point to meet up with the other raiders. But she was happy nonetheless.

Piper wasn't far from Terra Neverlandis. The terra itself was lush and green. A paradise filled terra with plenty of resources, and uninhabited for the last three years. Out of nowhere she hit a storm. Freezing cold hail hit her from all directions and the winds were severe. Piper decided to push through and try and make it to the terra before she was struck down. She was already running out of fuel, when she realized her heli blades starting to malfunction. She had to jump. She grabbed her pack from the hatch behind her and a parachute. Piper lost her grip on her heli-scooter and was flung off of it. Her heli-scooter was swept away by the strong gusts of wind. Piper couldn't help her body from spinning uncontrollably in circles. She had to think fast, sooner or later she would hit ground. All of a sudden something grabbed hold of her, or someone. Whoever they were, they had some sort of shield crystal the protected them from the storm. There was only one person she could think of who had one.

"It's okay. I got you." Said the person.

It was then Piper recognized the person. She had blonde hair which she kept in pigtails and a freckled face. Piper would know her anywhere. Lark, or rather Master Cyclonis. This wasn't the first time she used a Chroma Crystal to disguise her otherwise dark features. The situation they found themselves in now was eerily similar to the first time they met, no doubt crafted by Cyclonis in order to facilitate her plans. Even though she knew her life was in the hands of an enemy, she had to trust her at least until the landed safe and sound. Fortunately enough they did. When they had landed Piper noticed the immediate change in weather. The rain stopped and the clouds receded and Terra Neverlandis was bright and lush as ever.

"Like my Storm Crystal?" Lark asked in a 'I'm better than you are' voice.

"What do you want Cyclonis?" Piper spat.

"I couldn't help but notice your rage as you left the Condor." Lark smiled. "Did you have a little argument with Aerrow?" she teased.

"No." Piper denied "So what if I did. You don't care, and why should you. Now what do you want?"

"Oh, but I do care. You forget, I know you well." She smiled. "I hate to inform you, but you're not on Terra Neverlandis, at least, not anymore."

"What?" Piper tried to find the truth in her head. "What did you do?"

Lark laughed "It wasn't me. You and your 'team' managed to get on the bad side of the Murk Raiders. I must say that their firepower is impressively extensive. Now not only do they have a whole fleet of ships, but they are stocking up on terras. Neverlandis was just one of many defenceless terras that now belong to a greater cause."

"You let this happen on purpose!" Piper screamed.

"Bravo, you are a smart one." Lark applauded mockingly. "I do have some good news though. You get to spend your vacation on Cyclonia." Her hand did an elegant twirl when said said 'Cyclonia'.

"That's the last place I would want to take a vacation to."

"Piper, Piper, Piper, who said you had a choice?"

Piper's eyes widened when she felt the instant pain in the back of her neck. She reached back and pulled out a dart. Looking at it, confused, Piper fainted.

"We're nearing Terra Mar." Stork announced after a couple of hours of constant flying. Air-traffic is not good these days, Stort thought to himself.

Skyler breathed in through her nose "I can already smell the salt water." She didn't seem to mind their current stationary position behind a waste freighter. She was going home, and nothing could dampen those thoughts. Finn, Junko and Radarr had returned from their mission and were ready for more action.

"Alright. Finn you stay here with the others while I go with Skyler to meet up with the Crystal Raiders." Aerrow ordered.

"Does that mean I'm in charge?" Finn asked hopefully.

"Yes, but don't go power mad like that one time."

"That was one time!" Finn argued.

Skyler wasn't paying attention to what was going on between the Storm Hawks, but she drew their attention as the terra came through the clouds "Just wait till you see it! Terra Mar has beautiful waterfalls that overflow into pools that spill over into more pools making a beautiful watery domino effect! Its very much like Terra Amazonia, but it has way less trees and more water, generally speaking of course."

"Sounds great." Aerrow said happily.

Aerrow noticed how Skyler bright blue eyes sparkled when she talked about her terra. They landed on the terra within minutes. Skyler was all too eager for her feet to feel the moist dirt of Terra Mar. She ended up beating Aerrow to the launch bay. As they descended the ramp of the Condor Aerrow watched Skyler hoping to see a smiled of beautiful remembrance. But it never came. Aerrow noticed the terror on Skyler's face.

"No, it can't be." Skyler ran toward the small village she grew up in.

Aerrow watched her run off towards the close by village and saw that devastation had recently struck. Smoke rose from multiple structures that were no longer standing. Skyler stopped herself just before entering the village. A Cyclonian flag was hung on flagpole.

She fell to her knees. "I was going to come back." she said through her choked up emotions.

"Are you okay?" Aerrow asked trying to console her.

Skyler hung her head and remained silent. She finally said "I failed them." through her tears.

"You couldn't have known this would happen." Aerrow said.

"I should have stayed!" Skyler raised her voice rising to her feet. "I would have been able to protect them! Why was I so quick to live out my selfish dreams when my home terra needed me!"

"Skyler!" Brody yelled to her as he ran.

Skyler, not wanting her little brother to see the desolation of their terra, ran to meet him halfway. She reached him and hid his eyes by hugging him tightly as the tears continued to come.

"I'm sorry Brody." Skyler sobbed. She fell to her knees again forcing Brody to his knees also.

As Skyler hugged him he saw their village over her shoulder. Brody pulled away, his eyes now filling with tears.

"What happened?" Brody asked Skyler as if it were her fault.

"I don't know." She remained on the ground. She had given up on trying to keep her tears back.

"Mom and Dad? Are they?"

Skyler knew exactly what Brody was asking "Gone, along with most of the village."

Jinny and Jaden ran up behind them. When they saw Jinny turned her face into Jaden's chest wanting to erase the image that was instantly burned into her memory.

Skyler stood and turned to Aerrow who had taken his time walking over to the now forming crowd. "Cyclonia will pay for this." She said in all seriousness.

"I'm sorry, I know how you must feel right now." Aerrow apologized.

Just then, a powerful blast of energy shot past Aerrow and nearly hit him. His first thought was that they were being attacked by Cyclonians. But when he looked around he saw no one.

"Everyone, back to the ship!" Skyler commanded.

"Skyler, we have to fight them!" Aerrow said.

"Look at my squadron. We are not in any condition to fight." Skyler reasoned.

Aerrow recognized Piper's laugh as she became visible. "Piper, what are you doing here?" Aerrow asked.

"I'm here to get rid of you." She said bluntly, her voice monotone.

"Are you really still upset with me? Piper, think about how your acting!"

"I was sent by the Master herself, I will fulfill my mission. After all, it's for a friend." Piper said with a crazed look in her eye.

"She's been hypnotized by Cyclonis!" Aerrow called to Skyler.

"Jaden take everyone back to the ship. I have to help Aerrow." Skyler ordered.

Piper was fighting Aerrow in her own unique style that she had perfected. Skyler threw herself towards Piper and kicked her out of the way, preventing her next hit.

"I don't want to hurt her." Aerrow told Skyler.

"Then why are we fighting her?" She asked.

"Only use defence, we have to find a way to break the hypnosis. Cyclonis probably used a secret phrase that only she knows." Aerrow suggested. They had used Hypnosis once before on a mission, he just hoped he could reverse the effects this time.

"There has to be another way!" Skyler thought out loud.

"You're going to lose. The Master always wins." Piper said.

"Piper, snap out of it!" Aerrow called as Piper brought her leg down aiming straight for Aerrow. He rolled out of the way and readied himself. "Piper I know you're in there. I need you to listen to me," Aerrow continued as he avoided all of Piper's attacks. "I need you to fight the hypnosis."

"You think I'm weak and can't take care of myself." Piper said spitefully. "Well, I'll show you I can fight and win! I'll do so by taking down your girlfriend."

Piper charged at Skyler. Skyler, still in shock from seeing her terra vaporized, hardly noticed being knocked to the ground. She snapped out of it when she heard Piper unsheath a knife. Piper stood overtop of Skyler pinning her to the ground. Skyler grabbed the hand that held the knife and tried to push it away from her. But Piper had the perfect angle and proceeded to bring the knife closer.

"Piper no!" Aerrow called as he ran to the two girls.

Skyler brought her knee into Piper's gut causing her to hunch over in pain and let go of Skyler. Piper quickly got herself together and attacked once again with the knife. Skyler did her best to dodge the swinging blade but failed a few times. Piper was successful, with three strikes on Skyler. First on her shoulder, a deep wound that nearly rendered her right arm useless, a gash to the side, not bad but still stung, last, a small scrape wound on her ankle that she barely noticed compared to her other wounds. Skyler had no weapons of her own to fight back and was losing very badly. Aerrow drew his energy blades and charged at Piper from behind. He circled around her, moving cunningly, and disarmed her from her small but effective weapon. Aerrow was now in front of her staring at her straight on. He brought his foot behind her left leg and tripped her making her land on the hard ground. He brought his energy blades close as a threat.

"Game over." He said

"No, it will never be over. Not until I kill you Storm Hawk." Piper protested even though it was useless. Aerrow was able to bind Piper with metal cuffs he found in the close by village. Skyler, still in pain, tried to deny her weakening state.

"Let's get Piper to the Falcon." Aerrow said Picking her up, but she struggled to get free, so he threw her over his shoulder and carried on.

Skyler started to follow but fell to the cold, damp ground.

"Skyler!" Aerrow called when he realized. He dropped Piper and went to see if Skyler was okay. Which she wasn't. She looked up at Aerrow, barely conscious.

"I'm not having a good day." She was hardly able to get out.

Aerrow smiled "Are you sure about that?"

Skyler's eyes rolled back as she blacked out.

"Skyler stay awake. I can't carry you both." Aerrow tried but realized it was useless. The Falcon was not very far away, Aerrow put Skyler as his first priority. She made sure Piper's wrist and ankle bounds were secure and carried Skyler back to the Falcon.

Aerrow sent Jaden back for Piper while he made sure Skyler was going to be taken care of.

Jinny's eyes widened when she saw Skyler's state "That Piper can really do a number."

Aerrow stood there awkwardly, holding Skyler while the others looked at Skyler's wounds. "Um, where's the infirmary?" He finally asked.

"Oh, I show you." Minnie said snapping out of her shocked state. "Follow me." Minnie walked down a wide corridor.

"Did you guys make this ship yourselves?" Aerrow asked on the way to the infirmary.

"Not entirely. We found this ship in a small forest just outside the village. It had been there for years and obviously was not in working condition. But we fixed her up good." Minnie said proudly.

"Impressive." Aerrow replied.

"Well, here we are."

The door opened to a room filled with medicine cabinets and a few small beds. Aerrow gently set Skyler down on the closest one. With Skyler's weight no longer in Aerrow's arms he noticed them going lumb. He tried to hide it by directing the conversation.

"Nice room."

"Thanks." Minnie started assessing Skyler's wounds more closely now. Realizing how awkward Aerrow probably felt she said "You can wait elsewhere you know."

"Oh, yes of course. I'll leave her to you then." Aerrow sighed as he left the room.

When Aerrow got to the bridge Jaden had gotten back from his small errand.

"Aerrow, I'm so sorry." Jaden began. "Piper got away. I'm not sure how because I saw her on the ground, her hands and feet were bound as I approached her but then she just dissapeared."

"Strange. But what's even more strange is her behavior. Piper isn't one to react in such a way after a little argument. This is not jealousy, there's sometime else going on." Aerrow contemplated vocally.

"So uh, what did you do?" Jaden asked as casually as he could.

"What?" Aerrow asked having no clue what Jaden was asking about.

"You said it's not jealousy, but Piper was angry about something. Did you guys have a fight? Are you- together?"

Aerrow sighed and wiped the stress of his face "As much as she wanted something to be there between us, it just wasn't."

"Ah, so that's why." Jaden said as if he understood perfectly.

Aerrow coked his head in confusion as he usually did when confused.

"What I'm trying to say is, girls are always acting different. But hey, it keeps our lives interesting."

"No, I don't think she's acting different on purpose. I know when someone has been hypnotised.

"Then who's in control?" Brody asked. He had been listening to their conversation from the vent above.

Aerrow looked straight up alarmed. "What?"

Brody jumped down. "Hi, I'm Brody I'm a huge fan of yours!" Brody looked up at Aerrow with stars in his eyes.

"Uh, thank you. What was your question again?"

"Someone hypnotized Piper, who was it?"

"Someone with a lot of power." Aerrow realized "Thank you all for your help, I'll take care of this." Aerrow made for the door.

"Wait, " Jaden called after him. Aerrow stopped and turned to face Jaden and Brody. Jaden walked over "Skyler is like a sister to me, Piper will pay for what she did. We're in this together."

Jaden held out his hand offering a handshake. Aerrow took Jaden's hand "Alright. Set course for Cyclonia."

"So, how is she?" Jinny asked Minnie. Jinny had sat there silently for about a half hour while Minnie patched Skyler's wounds. She hadn't left her side.

"She'll be fine. The wounds weren't so bad, I think she fainted from the sudden stress of everything." Minnie explained. "She just needs to rest."

"I'm glad she's okay." Jinny said and trailed off into silence.

"Are you okay?" Minnie asked noticing that Jinny was more out of it than usual.

"Hmm? Oh- I was just thinking about something."

"Terra Mar?"

Jinny looked up at Minnie with a sad smile. "I was remembering all of those warm days when Skyler and I would run off into the forest and play in the mud. It was so beautiful."

"It still is beautiful." Minnie reasoned.

"No it isn't. Not with the Cyclonian flag marking the terra. Master Cyclonis will pay for this."

Suddenly the ship turned sharply casing Jinny and Minnie to nearly fall over.

"Who's changing our course?" Minnie asked almost infuriated.

Jinny followed Minnie out of the room and up the corridor to the bridge. Jaden was at the wheel.

"What is going on here?" Minnie asked through gritted teeth.

"We're going to Cyclonia." Jaden stated.

"What?" Jinny asked dumbfounded.

"We're going to Cyclonia to avenge our terra."

"And to save Piper." Aerrow added.

"Great, making decisions while our skyknight is unconscious. Way to be respectful." Jinny barked at her brother.

"You know she wants this." Jaden said very convincingly.

"I know that she is in no condition to help us. We have no skyknight, on our way to a terra that could easily be the most evil terra in all of Atmos!"

"Hey, I'm a skyknight. If you'll let me, I'll lead the charge." Aerrow volunteered.

The squadron looked at Aerrow in silence as if judging his skillset. "Even if you did, I don't like the idea of putting Skyler in danger." Jinny finally said.

"But, it's not just for us; it's for our terra. We're willing to take the risk." Jaden interrupted.

At first Jinny looked surprised to hear Jaden say that, but you could see her emotions change to agreeance. Aerrow held out his hand and Jaden shook it.

"I don't suppose you have a plan?" Jaden asked Aerrow.

Aerrow smiled as the wheels in his head started to turn.

Aerrow went back to the Condor to brief his team on everything that unfolded. The Storm Hawks were now gathered around the table on the bridge, some of their faces showed great sympathy, other's showed determination.

"I need you to continue the mission that Skyler and I started." Aerrow said once he had finished.

"What? You want us to go on some wild goose chase while you guys are risking your lives kicking Cyclonian tail?" Finn yelled in annoyance, he hated being left out of the action.

"That's exactly right. I can't lead two squadrons at the same time. And whatever Skyler and I were on to on Terra Deep it could still be a danger to Atmos." Aerrow continued. "Everything you need to know is in my field journal, it lists the creatures we found and where they're originally from."

"I don't know about you, but I am NOT excited about meeting my very first Bog Wolf." Stork said.

"Bog Wolf?" Junko asked ignorantly.

"That's right, Huge dog-like creatures that could tear even you to shreds!" Stork informed, although not too comfortingly. Beside Junko, Radarr was making a sound that sounded like protest.

"That's enough!" Aerrow said getting their attention again. "It's true our mission may be more dangerous than yours, and we may need back up. Which is why I'm counting on you to get it done and be ready to be there if we need you."


	8. Chapter 8

"Brody hold on!" Skyler ran to the edge of the cliff where she found Brody hung on for dear life. She reached down but was unable to reach him. She couldn't reach her brother.

"Skyler, save me!" Brody called out. Strangely enough Skyler could barely hear him now, as if he was already drifting away. She felt hopeless.

"I won't lose you too!" She yelled. But it was too late. Brody's fingers slipped and he fell deep into the Wastelands.

Skyler shot up on the bed sweating and with eyes filled with tears. She cried into her palms for a good minute until she realised; It was just a dream. Or at least, she hoped it was. Although the reality remained about Terra Mar, she was glad her dream wasn't real. But she wanted to make sure Brody was alright. Skyler swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up and wished she hadn't. Immediately, pain shot up through her side where Piper had cut her and she sat back down. She tried to stand up once more, taking her time. With a little success she slowly made for the door. She was surprised when the door opened, Aerrow and Minnie standing just outside. Both Minnie and Aerrow's faces were in shock.

Skyler still hunched over in pain asked "Is Brody alright?"

It was then that her knees buckled underneath her weight. Minnie and Aerrow ran to help her back to the medibed.

"Please lay down. You need to heal." Minnie said softly.

"What I need is to see my brother!" Skyler said struggling to get to her feet, brushing Minnie away.

"Brody is fine." Aerrow said calmly.

It wasn't until Aerrow said this that she finally relaxed. "Really?" she said, her eyes still tearful.

"Really." Minnie repeated, stroking Skyler's beautiful blue hair comfortingly. Skyler allowed Minnie to walk her back to the medibed.

Skyler sighed a sigh of relief and started to drift off into sleep again.

"Get some rest. We'll take care of everything." Aerrow said referring to the impending battle on Cyclonia.

With that, Skyler fell into sleep once more. "I'll stay with her. You go and brief the others on the plan." Minnie said remaining seated as Aerrow stood up. With a slight nod, Aerrow turned and left the infirmary.

"We're nearing Cyclonia." Jaden said to the group when they were less than a mile away. Cyclonia was just starting to show in the distance.

"Okay, you all know your strengths. I want you to use them!" Aerrow began his pep talk. "This mission is no picnic. The Cyclonians are ruthless. they will do anything to win, so be aware of that."

"Brody and I will sneak onto the terra and try to locate the prisoners from Mar." Jinny said repeating her part of the mission.

"Jaden you take care of the helm. Nyota I need you to help me take care of Cyclonis. She's very powerful, but your knowledge of crystals would be a great asset." Aerrow relaying the rest of their missions.

"It's time" Jaden said just as Terra Cyclonia was in sight.

"Raiders move out!" Jinny said then looked at Aerrow. "Sorry, thats was Skyler always says."

"Alright. I hope my squadron got the message in time." Aerrow didn't expect to need them, but there was still a chance that things could go wrong.

"The Storm Hawks are coming?" Brody asked excitedly.

Aerrow nodded. "They've dealt with a great deal of Talons in the past. They're job is to back us up if we're discovered."

"I get to meet the Storm Hawks on top of meeting Aerrow! Best day ever!" Brody ran to get his skimmer ready. Jinny followed after him casually.

"Are we there yet?" Finn asked like a little kid.

"It will take us at least another twenty minutes till we see the terra." Stork said quickly with one breath.

Finn and Stork heard a crash from the hangar bay. They went to investigate and found Junko in a pile of scrap metal.

"I was preparing our skimmers for battle. Just a few upgrades." Junko said and smiled innocently.

Finn brought his hand over his eyes with embarrassment. "I give up. Why couldn't you ask one of us for help?"

"You were never much help to begin with." Stork smiled.

Finn paused for a moment "Hey! I so am! You try being the best shot in Atmos!"

"Oh, I wasn't referring to that." Stork said and continued. "While I am driving the ship and Junko is busy working on our skimmers, what have you been doing?"

"Supervising."

"Supervising huh? Getting a tan will not help us win over Cyclonia!" Stork yelled.

"I'm going to have to go with Stork on this one. You haven't been a very good acting leader." Junko said apologetically.

"Fine. You want me to help out? I'll help out. What should I do?" Finn asked throwing his arms out to the sides.

"You're the acting leader." Junko said.

Finn dropped his arms. "Right. I'll go- check the ships cannons."

"Okay Brody, one this mission, it is very important that we maintain stealth. Meaning no talking." Jinny said sternly once they were on the terra. They were crouched in a dark corridor behind some crates.

"Understood." Brody said loudly then covered his mouth when Jinny shot a sharp glance at him.

Jinny stood from behind the corner and started to sneak through the corridors.

Not thirty steps later they heard a voice behind them. "I'm curious," the voice said "Why we keep running into each other."

Without turning around she knew who the voice belonged to "Dark Ace."

"Awe how cute." The Dark Ace said when he saw Brody. He crouched down to meet Brody's eyes "Are you her bodyguard?"

Brody, trying to press through his fear said "Hardly. Her brother is more fitting for that role."

The Dark Ace laughed "Oh really? Then what does that make you?"

"Brody, Continue with the mission." Jinny had turned around and stepped in front of Brody. "I have some unfinished business to take care of."

"But-" Brody protested.

"Go, quickly!" Jinny barked and Brody ran.

The Dark Ace laughed again "This again? Very well. Same terms apply, no mercy."

Jinny mocked his laugh "No, really?" Subconsciously her hand went for her gun, but instinct told her a fire fight was not a good plan.

As she was thinking about this the Dark Ace pulled out his energy blade and loaded it with a paralyzer crystal. He shot at Jinny with a direct hit. "Really." he replied. "I'm going to let you live. Only because it amuses me see you try and beat me."

He picked her limp body up and carried her through the corridors to the prison. Jinny, being completely helpless at this point, decided it was best not to say anything. As much as she wanted to say something about how uncomfortable it was to have his shoulder digging into her side, she kept silent.

"Surprisingly light for the amount of weaponry to carry." The Dark Ace said when he put her down in a cell.

By this time Jinny was just regaining her feeling. She sat up and threw a small piece of metal at the already closing door. "Just try and get away with this." Jinny said in a normal but victorious tone.

"Now, now. Let's behave ourselves" The Dark Ace said, then turned around and left.

"Jinny?" said a voice from the next cell over.

Jinny turned and saw her mother. "Mom!" Jinny crawled over as fast as her body would let her.

"Are you okay? How did you get here?" her mother asked.

"We came to try and rescue you." Jinny answered. "I'm sorry, we should have never left Terra Mar."

"Oh no sweetie, don't be sorry. I'm just glad you're alright." The woman reached through the bars and stroked Jinny's cheek.

"What about dad? Where is he?" Jinny asked her mother who looked up with teary eyes. "No." Jinny understood the look in her mother's eye.

"It was Snipe. Your father spoke back and-" Jinny's mother started to sob.

Jinny reached through the bars and comforted her mother. She realized how much she missed her father already, and how much she wanted to be the one comforted.

Brody snuck through the corridors going no particular direction, he had no idea where he was going and had been depending on Jinny. Now he was all alone, he would do exactly what Jinny told him to do. He ran as fast as his stealth skills permitted. Brody heard someone approaching and quickly jumped around the corner to hide.

"Yes Master, I'll be there shortly." The Dark Ace's voice came and went as Brody watched him pass by.

The dark reality hit Brody like a sack of bricks; Jinny had lost to the Dark Ace. Now in a panic Brody continued down the corridor when the coast was clear. Brody's first mistake was not taking the time to check both ways before crossing the intersecting corridor. He was spotted by three Talons who were on patrol. Now his cover was blown. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. With his energy running low, Brody knew he would give up sooner or later. He was after all deep in the heart of Cyclonia. He slowed his pace to a stop and surrendered to the Talons.

One of them laughed "They all give up eventually."

"Let's just get him to the prison until we know what to do with him." another one replied.

Brody's hope sparked again. They were taking him where he wanted to go, but after he was stuck there it would be game over. He had to think fast.


End file.
